Dystopia

I have at least two friends that consider Dystopia to be one of the best albums Megadeth has ever written, and while I can't go anywhere near that far, it certainly could be heard as heralding a second resurgence, a 'third wind' for the band after 2011's middling Th1rt3en and lamentable Super Collider from 2013. The band really gets back to some thrashing basics here, with a small bump in energy and inspiration from the adding of Angra's Kiko Loureiro to the lineup, a master who would bring both an elevated level to the lead guitars as well as the rhythm/songwriting, which he does contribute to this album. Despite the delicate, intricate touches of his alma mater though, make no mistake, this might just be the heaviest Megadeth record, armed with a lot of two-fisted, chugging thrash, intense session drumming from the beast Chris Adler, and Mustaine's desperate sociopolitical lyrics, which all certainly help the album live up to its name.

Sadly, this is the sort of modern thrash that often enters through one ear and immediately exits the other. Everything about it functions on a surface level, and the rhythmic, palm-muted bombardment has a few new tricks up its sleeve like in "Foreign Policy" or the quick lurching grooves of "Fatal Illusion", and they're all slathered in the sorts of seasoned leads that Mustaine and Loureiro can provide, with some breaks towards classic Megadeth speed (like the end of "Fatal Illusion" which recalled "Five Magics"). It's not even that the tunes are catchy in the moment, but perhaps it's just that the band had already created such an elaborate lexicon that few of these really stand about the shoulders of their elder siblings. The performances are off the chart, with Ellefson's bass lines giving the frightening guitar talents a run for their money, and Adler's power unquestionable as it drives the tunes harder than anyone has ever done before him. Mustaine's voice certainly feels its age, and he often sticks with a more mid-pitch grumble, but on a few tunes he'll flex that upper range and it still sounds melodic and effective, just with a bit more gravel to it.

The backing vocal arrangements are also quite nice here, like the counterpoints on "Death from Within" and the smooth descending harmonies on "Poisonous Shadows", a track that probably best exhibits Kiko's neo-classical input into its structure. But a few 'perk-up' moments aside, like the rhythmic groove in the bridge of "The Emperor", one of my fave tracks here, so much of the riffing just feels as if I've heard it all before, and it doesn't always congeal into songs that are going to stick around in the brain like they once did in the 80s. Dystopia is clearly a proficient, effective return to form after the miserable record that preceded it, and has enough going for it to fire up an entire next generation of Megadeth fans who hopefully would go back and check out the classic era, while also letting the old heads breathe sighs of relief that Dave still has his finger on the pulse of what makes his band so great, but it's rarely blowing me away like it could have with the teamwork of these four players.

-autothrall
http:///www.fromthedustreturned.com

After the first listen of The Threat Is Real I was sure that Megadeth have come back to form, especially to the form they found already on Endgame.

And if we look closer at what we knew up to the point before the release of Dystopia, we could have been really sure that this album would become what Megadeth fans expected for so long:

Kiko Loureiro, a splendid guitarist from Brazil, better known for his work in Angra, joined this band. After Marty Friedman in the 90s, later Chris Poland, Glenn Drover and Chris Borderick, Dave Mustaine usually has been lucky in finding superb guitarists for Megadeth. Unfortunately, all the potential he had to write great and outstanding Megadeth songs was wasted on almost every album thanks to Mustaine's huge ego and jealousy towards his former friends in Metallica. He also prefers to write catchy and nice sounding songs, instead of taking his time and releasing really sophisticated stuff. I mean, look at Marty Friedman's solo project or his releases back then on Cacophony with Jason Becker and compare his stuff to what Megadeth released immediately after the great Rust In Peace. You cannot keep musicians from this format when you only try to play simple Pop Rock stuff, as Dave later did it on Cryptic Writings and Risk!

Same thing here - Yes, The Threat Is Real is a fast and dead beating song that reminds of Rust in Peace or The Conjuring, and Kiko Loureiro's solos - this is what I want to hear on an album from the kings of thrash metal!!! Sadly, the powder was already completely used for this song, because after this, Megadeth continue with what they have started on their album 13 and continued on Super Collider. Thrash metal bye bye. The songs are mid-tempo at best, rather groove metal than thrash. The best songs sound like straight out of 80s Megadeth, just with Mustaine's deeper voice. Those are, to clarify, The Threat is real, Fatal Illusion and Lying in State. Don't expect more from this album than these 3 songs! The last good song on this album is Poisonous Shadows. It's another one of these songs you wouldn't expect when you think about Megadeth. It's very dark with good guitar work and definitely worth a listen from beginning to end, even if it's repetitive after the second half. But even if it's untypical, it has a great chorus and the song overall remains in your ear after that.

These 4 songs could have made a good EP, because the rest is either totally forgettable, or average at best. The average songs are the title track, Bullet to the Brain and Post-American World. There isn't much to say about these songs. You will either like them for being catchy or be bored of them because Megadeth have wasted good ideas again and made them fillers.

Also, Megadeth should not forget that the playing time on albums is precious. Please don't put stupid ideas there like instrumentals or cover songs, like that song from Fear (who even is this band?) or Conquer or die. Nothing against variety on an album, but if a band has punished his fans and listeners permanently by intentionally not writing good music and sell themselves under their value for over a decade, they can't promote their newest shit as if they have just improved the winning formula of their biggest masterpieces, if they still go on with dumb ideas. We are already fed up with that and just want 10 good songs, this shouldn't be too much for a musician with minority complex and the audaxity to give the public "make better music" as an honest advice.

Dystopia has some good moments, but Megadeth should have put more effort on this release after the last 2 disappointing albums. Dave thinks Megadeth has evolved since he writes different and versatile songs, but for 3 albums he has proven that his ideas other than fast riffs and shred solos are either bad or always the same. I mean the Emperor could easily have been on Super Collider, not to speak about the cover songs. Luckily, this all a Megadeth fan wants is exactly these two things: fast riffs and solos, which is why he should stick to the winning formula from Rust in Peace or Endgame and keep the other stuff just in his head.

When this album came out in 2016, I heard a lot of hype surrounding it. After the severe disappointment that was Super Collider, a lot of people seemed to think this was them getting their Megadeth back. I had high hopes going into this, and while I did think it was a step in the right direction, it wasn't nearly a good enough step to say they were in good shape.

The songs on here aren't all bad, there are a few good ones. But unfortunately, I find the good ones to be just pretty good, while the bad ones are really not good. Songs like Death from Within and Bullet to the Brain are complete wastes of CD space that add nothing to the album, a lot of the lyrics on this record are awful like in Post-American World and The Emperor, and while there's some songs with promising ideas here like Poisonous Shadows, there's plenty of bad moments that ruin the track for me. Conquer or Die isn't a bad track at all, but it doesn't do enough to deserve a spot on the album personally. The record feels overall like a lot of filler with little to no substance here. Are these tracks still better than much of what we heard from Super Collider? Sure, but they still aren't on levels of Endgame or United Abominations, let alone Rust in Peace.

As I did mention, there are a few solid tracks, namely the first three and Lying in State. The Threat is Real has some really cool guitar harmonies and a solid groove that I can jam every so often, but hardly return to enough. The title track is by the books a really solid Megadeth song, it just doesn't do enough to be a frequent return either. The solos are great, and I like the vocal melodies, but it just stays as a fine song, not a really good one. Lying in State has some great energy. I return to that song every so often and get a good amount of rush listening to it. Oddly enough I also really enjoyed the Foreign Policy cover, too. I'm not always a big fan of covers being a part of the main album, but there was so little here for me to begin with that I'll take anything.

The highlight of the album by far is Fatal Illusion. I think it captures classic Megadeth songwriting with a modern sound beautifully. The only gripe is that the verse almost reminds me of the Magic School Bus theme song, which always put me off, but I eventually got over it. That song has stood up well with some of the best modern Megadeth songs.

This album is far from the worst thing I've ever heard, but when I hear people say it's the best thing since Countdown to Extinction, I can't help but be incredibly puzzled. The album has good moments, but it's far from memorable or good. There seemed to be a lack in the thrashiness of the sound, too. Chris Adler apparently was given some say on the song writing after he joined the band, and I can almost feel the more Lamb of God direction here with focus on heavier, chuggier riffs more so than speed and technical riffs, which on its own is completely fine, but not what I turn to a Megadeth album for. I come to Megadeth to hear Take No Prisoners type songs, which this album didn't really satisfy.

The production is fine, no real gripes or complaints at all. Certainly a heavy-sounding album with a well-balanced mix. This album isn't all bad at all, and if you're a die-hard Megadeth fan or kind of dig Megadeth but are looking for a more modern sound, this album will satisfy you. But if you're looking for something like Endgame or even So Far So Good So What, you'll be left disappointed. Especially now, after The Sick the Dying and the Dead has released, I can tell what this band is capable of doing, and this album completely misses that mark.

Megadeth is a band that, when they’re on, they’re on like Donkey Kong. Peace Sells, Rust in Peace, most of Countdown to Extinction, those three songs from Endgame we all know and love – this is the kind of stuff that kept Megadeth firmly stamped right on the map. They dropped off for a while with the two albums after Endgame, but there’s much ado about their 2016 release, Dystopia. With Kiko Loureiro serving as the other guitarist, having the album more closely resembling Rust in Peace is a safe bet – nothing like him and Dave Mustaine coming right on out with some high-flying solos accentuating catchy riffs. It isn’t quite as strong as those albums I just mentioned, but it’s definitely got its strengths.

Sure enough, the album starts off pretty good with the triple threat of “The Threat is Real”, “Dystopia” and “Fatal Illusion”. The intro song operates at a mid-pace, mixing some chugs with some mid-paced gallops and throws all that your way. Thankfully, this comes across more like an earworm than a non-entity. The titular song is more lively given the faster strumming and leads permeating throughout to get it in your head. “Fatal Illusion” creeps up on you with a somewhat angular groove – somewhat reminiscent of what you’d hear from Angra – before picking up the pace and ratcheting up the tension with some thrashing riffs. Big fat fucking spoiler alert, alongside the fiery fretboarding solo-laden instrumental “Conquer or Die” and the out and out fucking catchy affair that is “The Emperor”, these are the best songs on the album, mainly because they’re the most melodic and lively songs on the album.

This is at least better than anything they’ve done since Countdown to Extinction. Having said that, the other songs are considerably weaker – but they’re not without some merit. “Post American World” and “Bullet to the Brain” have memorable choruses thanks to a slightly more urgent pace in the instruments. Like, I dare you to get their choruses out of your head. But both are bookended with lame, plodding chugs that serve as the verse riffs. Seriously, this shit chugs like a fucking choo-choo train! “Poisonous Shadows” could’ve worked as a neat mid-paced song if it were about two minutes shorter. It’s got a decent rhythm that would stick more if it didn’t drag on for six goddamn minutes. As it is, though, it just kind of plods along – and, when taking the other faults into consideration, it lets the album down a fair bit.

Much of the album consists of mid-paced grooves and thrashy-sounding riffs, interspersing shreddy as fuck solos throughout. This is all with Chris Adler providing a solid backend, David Ellefson providing a few bass licks to bring us back to Mustaine and Loureiro’s riffing, and Mustaine bringing about a venomous vocal assault that provides bite to the angry lyrics whilst also providing additional melody to the songs – said venom, the likes of which we haven’t heard since Rust in Peace. But that album presents somewhat technical and highly melodic riffs, and the songs are a lot more interesting as a result. On Dystopia, the songs vacillate between fairly non-descript chugging and vague thrashing with great solos, and enjoyable guitar technics. In cases of the latter, the songs are consistently enjoyable. The titular song’s theatrics make it pop while “The Emperor” has yet to leave my head in the four years this album has been out as of writing this. But in cases of the former, I’m just waiting for a catchy chorus or for either Mustaine or Loureiro to let it rip so that the song can do SOMETHING.

And it all comes back to how, when Megadeth are on, they’re the main event at the Apollo Theater. Half of Dystopia stands a bit below the band’s best work, but then that’s a monolithic standard to try and meet, so to come close to that while still being a band for over 30 years is pretty impressive by any metric. But the other half lives and dies by the solos and maybe the choruses because everything else is kind of lame – just like most everything that they’ve done between Countdown and here. As it stands, it’s good, but I’m also hoping that the Mustaine/Loureiro partnership can produce some truly stellar stuff in the future.

Coroner never checked because he didn't fucking care!

Holy shit I forgot how much this album rules! Dystopia can easily be summed up as a combination of everything good from United Abominations and Endgame combined, with some slight idea malfunctions. As an entire release, the most recent Megadeth record is an absolute beast! The songwriting is top notch like it was in the later 2000s, the delivery is smooth as fuck, and amazingly, the crazy extra production that has been used frequently actually enhanced it, rather hurt it. I don't know what the engineer did this time, but boy did they ever do it right. Oh, and there's a nice throwback to the tactic on Peace Sells with the heavy use of buildups to shackle everything together. When this first dropped, I was skeptical at first because hooks aren't as prominent, but once you spin it a few times and take in the overall feel, there's isn't much more you could ask for.

Something that Dave and co. haven't achieved to their full potential until this album was the ability to feel the music. Jesus Christ man, that fucking bass! Not only does it take on the responsibility for rhythms and bridge work, but it makes this all the more heavy and intense. "Fatal Illusion" is probably the greatest track on here due to all of this. The bassy bridge used, the terrorizing energy that is built up over time, and then every ounce of fury in the bass, guitar, and Dave's voice just dump everything they've got into a speed ecstatic kick to finish this track's delivery. Sometimes, the songs get to the point right away, like album opener "The Threat Is Real", charging the eardrums with a fret happy rhythm section topped by an angrily melodic lead section. It doesn't stop there though, the drums cut through with a much sharper blade, creating this energy that can be felt while heard. The bass kicks are on maximum overdrive to give this tank of an album even more ammo. Lastly, the super deep and punchy distortions used here add such a dreadful mood to this, that face melting is imminent.

The chosen title for this album could not be anymore fitting, as everything on this is about horrible global issues, the end of the world, remains of society, etc. This has been a popular theme for the band in more recent efforts, and it's really solid, but man this is where the sound truly matches the lyrics. Although individually this disc may not hold as many hooks as albums in the past, the terror ridden feel that I keep bringing up is what makes this one special. Even on the slower tracks, such as "Bullet To The Brain", with the cleaner intro, the bulk of the song is still drenched with fiery pummeling drums and absolutely hateful waves of fortitude. Hell, break into the solo of that song, and notice the slower whiny part of it is still absolutely raging on the kit! Of course, the leads then catch up to that pace and finish it off strong. Yikes is this ever a lot! The only real downfalls here are the fact that (as usual), a few tracks on the second half don't quite hold as much merit, and it's less hooky. Particularly, "Poisonous Shadows" absolutely sucks. It isn't the worst thing in the world, but it doesn't fit here very well.

The magic is nothing more than absolute focus on composition, and picking the correct musicians to fill the roles. The lineup is extremely inconsistent, but if it's what works, I say do it again for the next Megadeth record! And on that note, I just want to close by saying that I hope that there's another one. Even bands that put out consistent bad ones are never gonna make me say "just hang it up". Look at Alice Cooper, before Paranormal, he had put out a few snoozefest records, but that one absolutely kills! On the other hand, Dystopia is just proof that they've still got it. There's always room for another album, even if it doesn't turn out to be that great. I look forward to the next record by my man Dave and his henchmen.

Megadeth has had many hits and many misses in their tenure on the scene. This album ends up definitely being a hit, in my eyes easily the best since even before Endgame, their last quite good record.

The songwriting on Dystopia ends up solid, with every track ending up consistent in base quality and in overall sound. As a consequence of its consistency, however, most of the tracks do not end up standing out. This is not a bad thing however, as the album is fantastically solid all the way through, so one ends up enjoying every song, even if they do not necessarily stand at the end of the day. The album is a good listen end to end, and the consistency makes one want to always listen to it as such.

Out of all the tracks, the beginning track, The Threat is Real, with its odd eastern-inspired opening stands out significantly. It goes on to be one of the heaviest songs on the album, continuing its standing out. Post American World is obviously the most politically charged of the songs, but the anger and purity of what is felt there is quite true, and it shows out significantly in the songwriting. It ends up coming across as probably the best song on the album, only challenged by the next one to be discussed by name.

Poisonous Shadows ends up being the last of the most significantly standing out tracks in my opinion, with the alternation between slow and heavy being quite noticeable, especially with with the extremely tasteful double bass roll dropped in.

Although not quite as memorable, the last few songs on the album, end up quite heavy and quite fast, with some being more punk-like than the others. This does avoid the trap that some bands fall into to put their rawest work at the beginning and leave the ending a bit too weak. This makes the whole album a good listen, not tempting one to drop off near the end.

Overall, the album is one of Megadeth's best albums, being a significant highlight of their career. Only a couple of their earlier albums, such as Peace Sells... and Rust in Peace end up matching its consistency. It's one of their heavier pieces of work, and ends up being a quite solid piece of work. It also ends up being their most politically and emotionally charged record in a long time, which is likely a significantly influencing factor on its quality, given the correlation with Megadeth's output and such things. If they continue with this, then I'll like what's coming next.

I wasn't a metalhead when Super Collider came out.  In fact, I had only gotten into metal the year before Dystopia.  When Megadeth announced their fifteenth studio album, I was pretty cynical.  I have no clue why I wasn't as naive as most other young metalheads.  I guess I just assumed it would be bad because it was a later album from a popular band and I was under the impression that only the first several albums could be good (my opinions used to be highly influenced by the average scores albums received on the Metal Archives).

It was my birthday (or something like that) and one of my gifts was this album.  I was excited nevertheless because who doesn't like being gifted new music.  I didn't even have to pay, so it didn't matter if it was good or bad at that point.  After spinning it, I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy the album.  And I still put in on the player to this day.

Dystopia is a very nice checkpoint in Megadeth's discography.  It has an album cover that is nice to look at, the riffs are all relatively fresh, and the good tracks are pretty evenly spread throughout the album.  There are only a couple of tracks that I don't particularly enjoy, specifically "The Emperor," "Post-American World," and "Bullet to the Brain."  I also don't like the cover, but that's just because it's a bad song in general, not because of Megadeth.

To start things off, this album is, like I said, a nice break, especially as Megadeth's previous album, Super Collider, was pretty awful.  The album starts off with technicality that can be traced back to Rust in Peace and riffage that is similar to that on United Abominations.  Examples of this technicality are "Poisonous Shadows," "The Threat Is Real," and "Fatal Illusion."  "Poisonous Shadows" is an interesting track.  Combining orchestral-sounding background noises with thrash metal, it's actually a pretty good song.  The riffs are great, but once the verses start, they become pretty mediocre, causing the vocals to be the driving force.  "The Threat Is Real" and "Fatal Illusion" both have great riffs and themes, proving that Megadeth can still do what they're known for.

Not only have the riffs gotten better, but the lyrics have also improved.  The lyrical themes are like that of their 2007 release: politics.  This is another aspect of this album that is a plus.  The lyrics are well-written.  I may not agree with them, but it doesn't take an idiot to know that these are good lyrics, something that their last several albums lacked.  The only lyrical segment I don't enjoy is the spoken-word outro of "Poisonous Shadows."  Despite the spoken-word, the piano is awesome.

This album is a huge improvement.  The solos have emotion and feeling, the instrumental, "Conquer or Die," is completely badass, and the songwriting is much better.  But, of course, like any recent Megadeth album, there are flaws.  "The Emperor" is a pretty big one.  The riffs and lyrics on this track are pretty lame.  I mean, what were they thinking when they wrote these riffs?  Sure, they can be okay at times, but it's way too repetitive for my liking.  In total, this song sounds like a lost recording from Cryptic Writings.

"Poisonous Shadows" is a pretty popular song, but I can never get into it.  It sounds like something off The System Has Failed with it's cheesy, melodic chorus and boring, chuggy riffs.  Even the background noises are annoying to me, reminding me of the industrial dabblings that seem to be scattered throughout their discography.  The lyrics are fine, the structure is okay, but the track as a whole is very disappointing.

Megadeth have made yet another comeback.  At this point, I really don't know what to expect from these guys because their entire discography up to this point has been hit or miss.  But, despite some small flaws, Dystopia is definitely a hit.

Overall Rating: 86%

Originally written for themetalvoid.wordpress.com

But with this record it won't seem that way. Dystopia is the fifteenth full-length studio album from Megadeth and features an interesting new band line-up with Angra’s Kiko Loureiro and Lamb of God’s excellent drummer Chris Adler. As is the norm, Dave Mustaine still writes a huge percentage of the music, so despite the new line-up, it doesn’t suddenly sound much like Angra or Lamb Of God either, although you can definitely pick up on their involvement during certain parts of songs.

As might be expected, Dystopia is more or less the same Megadeth album that the last four ones have been, with about the same level of similarity and similar forays into pushing the boundaries of their songwriting. It is slightly heavier and much more consistent than the more then slightly disappointing Super Collider, its slightly more consistent than Thirteen and a bit thrashier than 2007’s United Abominations. There are a few moments where the band pushes beyond the normal Megadeth output, such as a the piano and spoken-word at the end of Poisonous Shadows or the Spanish guitar introduction on Conquer Or Die. However, for the most part the band sticks close to what Megadeth does best. In fact, the closest album to this one is Endgame. As such, Dystopia is easily one of the best Megadeth albums in the last eight years.

The album starts off with a punch in the face! It is easily one of the band's best songs and should be included in their live set for years to come. This is the closest the band have come to being the thrash band that we saw on Rust In Peace. As well, the title track is reminiscent of Hanger 18 with its straight-forward riffing and song structure. Loureiro presents is felt in this song with his guitar licks fitting along alongside Mustaine’s vicious riffing. Fatal Illusion is just a heavy song! This is one of those songs that proves that you don't need to be down-tuned two and three steps to be the heaviest band on the planet! It's all about writing heavy riffs, which is exactly what you get here. Poisonous Shadows takes Megadeth into the power metal landscape. Though I didn't check the liner notes, if Kiko had any songwriting credits at all, it would be on this song. Much like Angra there is an almost symphonic feel to the song and features some stellar, virtuoso guitar playing and some fast drum triplets from Alder. The album ends with a cover of Fear’s Foreign Policy which fits in well thematically and with the general vibe of the album.

Overall, the album doesn’t particularly have any stand-out tracks or obvious attempts a hit singles, unlike some past album. Dystopia isn’t an album with a few highlights and a bunch of filler. Rather is very consistent and is filled with spectacular guitar playing and brilliant riffing. The guitars are sharp and lethal, the vocals have the gnarly Dave snarl and the lyrics are typically political in nature. This is "business as usual" for Megadeth, and why not? This album should please most Megadeth fanatics who are craving more of the same from the metal mongers.

Sure, I'll admit it. I'm long past my Megadeth phase, partially due to my self-insertion into the liberal political realm colliding with Dave Mustaine's egotistical and ignorant political views. There is no doubt in my mind, however, that they have had more impact on metal than most bands out there and they have created a (small) handful of albums that can be considered true classics. Dystopia is not one of those albums. Following the band's previous identity crisis-based trajectory and kicking a dozen people out along the way, Mustaine meticulously crafted which is probably not his worst album but definitely not his best.

Okay, let's discuss sound quality. There's nothing wrong in this department, except that Mustaine seems to have made a final decision to completely discard the classic thrash guitar tones and replace them with digitally altered amp simulations that sound more like a high-powered vehicle than a guitar. The drums are clearly heard, but are obviously triggered. Bassist David Ellefson delivers in his style of playing whatever the guitarists are doing, so the quality of the bass is often hard to discern. The vocals have stellar production, but Mustaine fucks it up with his usual whiny, snarly style that somehow passes as singing. Overall, it sounds much like metalcore save a few thrashing riffs here and there. The mix is as good as can be, given all these problems.

Now, the songs. Okay, it's true, there are some catchy choruses and stuff. But Mustaine has to ruin that too by throwing in his insolently bigoted lyrics that showcase his narrow-minded worldview. I'm all for musicians writing about politics, but not in a pro-Trump way. I have recently been boycotting Pantera due to Phil's actions at Dimebash, and I've created a list of black metal bands to avoid based on if they're openly racist. So given that, Dystopia is a little hard to stomach with songs like "The Threat is Real" and "Post American World" espousing xenophobic statements, and even the groovy chugs in "Lying in State" can't make up for the ignorant lyrics.

So you'll have noticed I gave this album a 45% instead of a 10%, and here's why. Kiko Loureiro, the brilliant guitarist from the Brazilian power metal band Angra. Kiko is by far the most talented musician to ever have played in Megadeth, and his solos are absolutely astounding. He fills every song with exotic-sounding lead runs and beautifully composed classical guitar arrangements. In fact, he's the only reason I still keep this album around. He's one of the best guitarists in all of modern metal, and that is a belief I will hold firmly for a very long time. While nowadays, most are obsessed with sweep-tap-Djent-sliding on their 17-string guitars, Kiko is one of the few that plays beautifully without sacrificing technicality, and vice versa. He even gets a whole song, "Conquer or Die!", just to himself, making it easily the best song on the album.

So over all: Only buy this album if you wanna hear some amazing guitar solos. Otherwise, stay the hell away from this abomination.

Megadeth is one of those bands most of us have probably loved at some point. Dave Mustaine is one of the greatest composers and guitarists of all time, having more or less invented thrash riffing as well as set several standards for it. These days, however, it is a whole nother story. While Megadeth is still one of the most popular metal bands today, the ongoing decade has not been a strong one for them musically. In fact, everything they've released since Endgame (2009) has been very mediocre if not plain out bad, and the albums that came out during the previous decade weren't exactly masterpieces either.

After the band's previous album, the epic failure known as Super Collider, Dave lost half his band (guitarist Chris Broderick and drummer Shawn Drover) and decided to use his bitterness (seemingly due to their sudden exits) to make a real thrash album once more. To make things even more hyping, Dave recruited Lamb of God's Chris Adler to lay down the drum tracks. It's easy to see how any die-hard Megadeth fans would get stoked about this album after all this, and they sure did as well. But like the pessimistic realist I can (and tend) to be, I look at it all with reserved hope.

As Dystopia finally dropped fans got real excited and the album met with overall praise. Personally, however, I thought it was just more or less the same boring crap Megadeth had been putting out for a few years already. Just like with the band's previous few releases, this is just another modern and stale thrash release with the usual complex guitar solos, drumming and general instrumentation you'd expect from Megadeth, with nothing being very memorable. That's just the problem with this album - it's essentially soulless. This is mostly due to Dave Mustaine's horrible vocals and the plastic production which, of course, is brick-walled and makes the album clip badly throughout its duration. The songwriting also feels generally uninspired and forced. So much for all the hype of having fresh blood in the band, eh?

At the end of the day Dystopia is nothing but another turd in Megadeth's catalogue which has, strangely, met with such great acclaim. If compared to Super Collider alone, it's a masterpiece indeed, but if compared to almost anything Megadeth did before 2010, it's just one of their worst releases by far. It literally adds nothing of interest to the band's catalogue except that it's a forced attempt at going back to their thrash roots (yet again). Although things were somewhat made out to put the blame on Broderick and Drover for the direction the band had taken on the previous few releases, a real Megadeth fan will always know that Dave Mustaine and no one but him runs the show. That's exactly what I was thinking when all the hype for this album was being bred, and just like I predicted they took another musical direction but maintained the same old tired songwriting. It's just not the same being a poor, angry and rebelling 25-year-old thrasher versus being a 55-year-old wealthy multi-millionaire, and this release makes that fact painfully obvious.

In my perhaps overly pessimistic but honest opinion, Megadeth should've hung it up years ago and gone out gracefully. Instead they are now into their third strike of releasing crap. It's sad to witness one of your old favorite bands go down this road like so many others have done already. For what it's worth, the title-track was a bit fun and the album's cover art is bad-ass, but that's really about it. What can I say? If you're new to Megadeth, do not start with this release. If you're already affiliated with them, do not expect too much of it. Megadeth is just a dystopian remnant of its former self at this point.

One of the legendary big 4 of American thrash, Megadeth comes out with a new record that's supposedly a return to form. Chris Adler from Lamb of God is on drums, Kiko Loureiro from Angra is on guitar, David Ellefson returns on bass. This lineup is killer. The album is getting glowing reviews from critics and fans alike. This should be a great metal album, right?

Wrong! This is one of Megadeth's worst records. It's not as bad as Supercollider or Risk, but it is still top 5 material in my book. I'm not asking for Megadeth to make another Rust In Peace here, but they can do so much better. This album is full of mind numbing chugging from beginning to end with some surprisingly generic modern thrash despite Megadeth being one of the genre's forefathers. The instrumentals on this album are so boring to listen to. I'd expect better than a rehash of Endgame from this lineup.

Of course the biggest problem with this record is Dave Mustaine. His lyrics are full of the conspiracy theorist garbage you'd expect from Infowars. The lyrics seem to paint this image of America being wiped out by a large influx of immigrants which is a laughably stupid and fantastic concept for a sub genre of metal that is known for biting political satire and the complete lack of irony is what does it for me. The lyrics aren't even that well written, with Post American World and Lying In State standing out as particularly god awful examples. Dave delivers one of his worst vocal performances to date on this album. He sounds like he stopped giving a shit years ago. His menacing snarl has been reduced to pathetic mumbling.

Fatal Illusion is probably the best track on the whole thing. It was dynamic, heavy and the lyrics were actually decent. It had some slower parts that made it more unique than the chuggachug bullshit on the rest of the album. Hearing it when it came out gave me hope for this album to be good. Hope that was greatly diminished by The Threat Is Real. Dystopia probably had some of the heaviest riffing on the whole album. However, it ends with a pretty mediocre cover of the hardcore punk classic "Foreign Policy" by Fear. I'm not sure if this was a bid to seem anti-PC or if Dave was trying to make a serious political point here. Either way seems kinda silly. If it was the former, then it fails because people have thicker skin than back in the 80s and there is less stigma around criticizing the government. If it was the later, it fails because Fear songs were only designed to offend people and not to make a serious political point. A properly weak and baffling ending to a weak and baffling album. Overall, I can't see the hype. It is a an absolute train wreck of generic robotic tech thrash riffs, dumb lyrics and atrocious vocals. Dave hasn't just gone off the deep end, he has jumped off the high dive, into the deepest end of an empty swimming pool. Overrated trash. 3/10

Like many budding, stunted and confused metalheads, many found solstice in the big four. I found solstice with Megadeth. The crushing heaviness made it stand out from the crowd, plus Dave Mustaine man, he can make some serious lighting fast riffs! It was the closest thing a kid can get to without listening to Slipknot. The lyrics were at least edgy enough in my eyes of little me...then I got older. And man, am I glad.

Nowdays, I now hold up the notion that the earliest Megadeth records are fucking masterpieces - from Killing is My Business, to Rust in Peace to Countdown to Extinction, with Youthanasia and...wait for it - Cryptic Writings as decent rock efforts. Yes, I hold Cryptic Writings as one of the last decent Megadeth albums. Everything else became shit when ol' Dave's brain went kaput, and became the egotistical and paranoid shithead we know today. That said, at least they tried in their newer efforts, despite Dave's batting at the conspiracy theory pinata, some of their newer songs had some alright composition, particularly in Endgame (even if the rest of the album was balls). Now enter Dystopia, supposedly a return to form following the much loathed Super Collider. People really fucking love this album. The riffs are crushing, the lyrics are stronger, it's got a sense of dread as ever - like classic Megadeth. It's gotta be good, right?

Sorry, but no. Dystopia is much more of the same Megadeth's been cranking out in the past years, and feels like a crappy sequel to Endgame. The only major difference is that there's two new members - Dick Verburen and Kiko Loureiro, taking the place of where Shawn Drover and Chris Broderick had. They are radically different and bring a new dimension in the musical world Megadeth made, yet they play second fiddle, but they at least bring more crushing, headbanging energy than Super Collider. The big ol' elephant in the room is our buddy pal friend Dave Mustaine. He's just as bad as he was previously. His voice is fucked and his lyrics are equally fucked too. Make no mistake, Dave is a bad vocalist, but it worked with the music. Now, whenever he sings, he sounds disinterested, unemotional and wants to get the entire thing done and over with. The lyrics are, while less politically deranged and actually touching on other material, still suck balls to the point of amusement, but that's not the worst part. As I stated before, it's a sequel to Endgame. Dystopia (the title track) is reminiscent of Endgame lyrically. Some of the songs are just lyrically retarded, especially for Megadeth standards, with Post American World and Lying in State are the worst offenders here, and sometimes they're so bad it makes me feel like that one of these days, Dave's gonna be nuts enough to write a track that rips off the basis of "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe".

The sole reason Dystopia isn't as terrible as the previous albums is because the riffs and composition of the songs are ten times more better than the previous albums. Finally, they're slaughtering us with the riffs! It's a reason why Fatal Illusion and...I hate to say it, the title track, are actually pretty tolerable when it comes to production, structure and rhythm. They're at least taking good effort in the songs, but it is nowhere near their best efforts in the early 90s, but it's a incredibly better effort than Super Collider, and that's saying something. It's just that Dave sucks as a songwriter at this point, and has to bog down this album with much of the same shit that's been in Endgame, with the conspiracies and Obama eating babies and all sorts of other shit to where he's almost self-plagiarizing himself. Dystopia's just another run of the mill Megadeth album, but with the fact that they at least tried to make it sound good yet bogged by the same terrible lyrics we heard dozens of times before.

Okay, now you can commence the hate mail I'm gonna get saying that Cryptic Writings was their last decent album. I can take it.

Frankly speaking, after the legendary metal group Megadeth released their state of the art speed/thrash metal chef-d'œuvre record Rust in Peace and hearing the succeeding Countdown to Extinction album, I had started to lose interest on Dave Mustaine's song writing proficiency. It's just that their later crafts after 1990 did not contain the intense and passionate overall elements that the preceding materials held. Referring to what I had stated above, after hearing about a latest offering by the band earlier last year, I did not get my hopes up. When the album was issued, I was in awe of the output that Dave (along with David Ellefson) and his new line-up came to produced.

Dystopia, the recent record that I am talking about, have proved that Dave Mustaine can still fabricate great songs even after all these years of failing to deliver. The album carries great guitar riffs form both Dave and Kiko Loureiro, and it also has that clear production which allows the bass to amplify it's heavy impact to the materials in the album. Also, the tunes here are played at a fast-paced level which were thrown in with great melodic solos, and the composition of the songs are very well constructed. There are even moments in Dystopia where the guitar section will remind the listeners a lot about Rust in Peace. The drumming of Chris Adler also fits well with the tracks in the album. He did quite an explicit and very firm work on his performance with Megadeth. This shows that Dave made the right choice of picking Kiko and Chris in taking part of assembling this record.

Now I wasn't expecting that Dave's vocals will deliver well due to the fact that the dude has aged, but he actually manifests a more effective, angry, and intense delivery in this offering. The dude's pissed off approach in the vocal work is, in my own opinion, one of the factors that were missing in their previous disappointing releases. The lyrics also showed a more revitalized and reanimated Mustaine. It's pretty clear that he is in a more ingenious state when he was making the lyrical contents of the tracks in the album.

This record really is an awesome comeback after years of shortcomings in producing a decent and fine album releases. It brings forth a few memories of the times when Megadeth were still killing the fans with complex and ultra-modem offerings that long time followers had enjoyed listening to and have grown to love. It may not be as good as "Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!", "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?", "So Far, So Good... So What!", and "Rust in Peace"; but Dystopia is an album that provides sufficient elements that the band's long time fans have long been waiting for.

In conclusion, this record is above the state of mediocrity yet below the level of their finest classic. It's an album worth purchasing and keeping even though it is not superior to its 80s and 90s predecessors. At least Megadeth didn't take the path that Metallica did with their career.

After the controversial Super Collider, Dave Mustaine decided to fire Shawn Drover and Chris Brodderick. The band needeed a consistent formation and an album to show what they’re still capable of being a still relevant band. Two new guys were brought: Chris Adler, the drummer of Lamb Of God, and Kiko Loureiro, the legendary guitarrist from the brazilian power metal band Angra. The desire of Mustaine to prove that he can still make relevant songs again make Dystopia one of their strongest efforts since Rust In Peace.

The first thing we can note listening to this album is a return to the more heavy and thrashy roots of Megadeth. It is not heavy as the first albums but is still heavier than Th1rt3en and the extremely commercial Super Collider, the last albuns with the last known line up. Again, Mustaine follows his politics themes in the entire album, sometimes making interesting critics and in others, sounding like a total patriot lunatic.

“Dystopia” is a great title track and represents the album pretty well: solid writing, great riffs, fast playing and melodic solos. The decision of adopting a more clean production allows the listener to note how well done the guitars are here and makes the bass audible, giving heaviness to this work. Kiko shows how talented he is in his style of playing and along with Mustaine shines in the tracks “Poisonous Shadows” and “Conquer or Die”. The problem with the very clean production is how it affects Mustaine’s voice. Sometimes, he feels like a robot talking, taking out the agression that he was known in the past while singing. But luckily, it doesn’t happens all the time.

In the year of 2016, we had several thrash metal albums shining. Dystopia is not a return to the old speed metal style from the early years of Megadeth, but it is the their most strong effort since 1990. We can define the sound here as a evolution from everything that the band has been doing in all those years: a tribute to the past looking forward to the future. Well done, Dave Mustaine.

Highlights: "Dystopia", "Death From Within", "Poisonous Shadows", "Conquer Or Die" and "The Emperor".

I was pretty certain that I would not listen to “Dystopia”, or even review it for that matter after the train-wreck that was “Super Collider”. I didn’t even care about the new line-up changes. However, when I saw a wide range of people greeting this album with open arms and flattering words, I decided to take a look. I’ve even heard some people calling this album the best since “Rust in Peace”. I can spoil that for you right away. It’s not. But it is still a pretty solid outing.

Before I even get to the album itself, I want to criticise the wide selection of editions there are of this album. The standard edition of this album features 11 tracks, but when you combine all the editions there is a total of 15 tracks. There’s the standard edition, iTunes, Best Buy, Spotify, Japanese and a limited edition. I don’t think that an approach like that is consumer friendly in any way, and it’s not like there is a big label dictating all of this, as it is released through Mustaine’s own label, Tradecraft. I’m not in favour business-models like this, and I never will be. All of this will of course not count in my rating of this album, but I will be accounting all 15 tracks into it.

“Dystopia” is a move far, far away from what both “Th1rt3en” and “Super Collider” was. This time we see a return to the more thrashy and heavy roots of Megadeth. Of course an artist should explore the ways they want to and not be subjugated to what fans want. Some bands are really good at making diverse albums, but when a band’s main songwriter is just one guy, like in Megadeth, it can hit and miss. I definitely don’t belong to the group of people who thinks that Megadeth only writes good albums if it is thrash albums. “Youthanasia” is among my favourites. With this new album we’re offered a very well produced album and some solid songs, but a lot of them goes into one ear and out the other. One song that definitely does catch on is the title-track, Dystopia. A very well composed mid-paced song with great melodic elements that you will hear from the beginning. It also features some great solos on top of that, which you also will encounter on the album opener, The Threat is Real. From around the middle of the title-track and until the end it is instrumental with riffs, and solos between Mustaine and Kiko Loureiro and also harmonies. That specific structure and feel does remind me a bit of Hangar 18. The more I listen to the title-track the better it gets, and it is one of the best composed songs Megadeth have released in years. It is without a doubt the absolute shining highlight of this album. Another track from “Dystopia” that gives me somewhat of a “Rust in Peace”-vibe, and that is Conquer and Die, the instrumental of this album. When it breaks into the electric guitar section, I just think back to their 1990 album. But that being said, do not expect a part two of “Rust in Peace”, because that will never happen. My apologies if I erected an excitement boner. All of the nods towards the album is, however, a pleasant listen.

The production on this album is really, really good. The guitars in particular sounds perfect for a Megadeth album, they sound just the way they should. The bass is right beneath the guitars adding a certain heavy feel to the thrash and that is without a doubt a good thing. In spite of this, I do definitely have a problem with a certain aspect of the production: the vocals. Mustaine’s vocals have never been known for a ton of range. He has definitely lost some and that is clear to hear on this record, and that ties in with the production. The vocals on “Dystopia” rarely sounds clear. Sometimes there is some kind of effect on Dave’s vocals, and at other times it sounds like he recorded the same line twice, but at a different pitches to give it more of a punch. But it does not really work for me. If you listen to Look Who’s Talking, in the beginning of the song Dave uses his normal talking snarling voice. But as soon as the song breaks into verse, it just sounds different. This can also be heard on Lying in State where it starts out with the altered vocal but in the middle he shifts to the before mentioned talking snarling voice, and the effect is gone. And on The Emperor you can hear it with the first line of the song, “Who do you think you are?“. When he stretches out “are“, I can’t help but cringe. All of this is apparent throughout the entire record and it hampers a lot of my enjoyment of this album. The Threat is Real, Dystopia, Poisonous Shadows and Conquer or Die. Those are the songs I enjoy the most from this album, and they are all on the standard edition. I don’t feel like any of the bonus tracks really add that much to the rest of the album.

I do not think that “Dystopia” is as good as “Endgame”, and that comes down to the songwriting and the vocals. That does not mean that there is nothing worthwhile on this album because there certainly is. There is a lot of great solos and interesting riffs, but overall it is does not feature as many memorable tracks as “Endgame” did. Please don’t encourage the shoddy business model for this album and just get one edition. Before this album I had written this band completely off, but this new album, and this new line-up has rejuvenated my interest in Megadeth. “Dystopia” starts off really strong and it can make you extremely ecstatic, but as it goes on it starts to dwindle. However, this is an album that a wide range of Megadeth fans can enjoy. It stands on its own, and I am looking forward to see this line-up reach its full potential on upcoming albums.

Written for Reigning Damnation.

So you’re Dave Mustaine and you’ve just released the biggest piece of shit you’ll ever release. Yes, I think ‘Super Collider’ is worse than ‘Risk’. What will be your next step? Record an album that’s easily your best in over a decade of course. One has to admire his resilience; Mustaine has had enough misfortune to make any ordinary musician quit five times, but his determination always forces him to get back up when he’s down. This time, the result is ‘Dystopia’, a sharp, fierce blend of thrash metal and traditional heavy metal with spectacular guitar work. In deed: the mark of a great Megadeth record.

Maybe it’s the new lineup. The Daves (Mustaine and bassist Ellefson) have enlisted the help of Angra guitarist Kiko Loureiro and Lamb Of God drummer Chris Adler this time. The former is a master of his craft who luckily gets enough room to display his talent and the latter simply sounds better than he ever has. The drum sound helps, but I think his parts are infinitely more interesting than what he does in his main band. Maybe these two guys were just wat Mustaine needed to write another scorching Metal record.

Then again, the songwriting is cranked up a notch as well. Occasionally, you can hear that Mustaine had a little trouble coming up with an ending for a few songs, but after a song and a half, you’ll have heard more good stuff than on all of ‘Super Collider’. The first two songs are among the album’s best anyway: opening track ‘The Threat Is Real’ is nice and thrashy, while the title track has a passing nod to ‘Hangar 18’ with its highly melodic midtempo main riff – well, midtempo by Megadeth standards – and the sudden tempo change for an amazing guitar solo section near the end.

Standing out for me is ‘Poisonous Shadows’. With its dark, brooding nature, vaguely Arabian-sounding string section and amazing chorus, it shows that Mustaine can write an excellent catchy track if he really puts his effort into it. Furthermore, the high octane instrumental ‘Conquer Or Die!’ is a showcase for Loureiro’s skills on the electric as well as the nylon string acoustic guitar, ‘Fatal Illusion’ and ‘Lying In State’ are delightfully aggressive and the slower tempo makes ‘Post American World’ a perfect vehicle for a darker, more threatening take on the band’s sound.

While ‘Dystopia’ may not be the big return to the ‘Rust In Peace’ brand of Speed Metal some people may have been hoping for, I think it’s excellent at finding the middle ground between heavy and thrash Metal, which is exactly what made 2004’s ‘The System Has Failed’ such an awesome record as well. Mustaine’s lyrical views may be a tad far-fetched every now and then, but I’ll take a Mustaine I disagree with politically over the insipid drivel that dominated the previous record any day. At least this Mustaine sounds inspired, vicious and aggressive. And let’s face it: isn’t that how any fan of his work would want him to sound?

Recommended tracks: ‘Poisonous Shadows’, ‘Dystopia’, ‘The Threat Is Real’

Originally written for my Kevy Metal weblog

It has been a long, long, LONG time since I gave anything new by Megadeth any real consideration. The most recent thing I heard from Dave and co. was “The System Has Failed.” YEAH. It’s only been about 12 years since I gave a shit about anything Megadeth has done. What’d I miss? Oh, was it a whole big pile of nothing? OK, then! I’ve been of the opinion since I heard TSHF that Megadeth was firmly in its Greatest Hits Era, and anything it’ll release from now on would just continue to be the sad wet farts of a once-great band, pathetically trying to reclaim some small part of its glory days as it spirals further into irrelevance.

But then, a few months ago – as if from nowhere – everyone started talking about Megadeth again! Could it be true? Have one of the Big Four finally rearisen?

Well, apparently they totally have.

My first impression is that “Dystopia” sounds like an evolution of the classic ‘80s and early ‘90s Megadeth formula…a bit like a cross between “Rust in Peace” and “Countdown to Extinction.” What I mean, is that in terms of sheer aggression and technicality, it feels like the logical successor to RIP, but it has more in the way of CTE’s melody. Like 80% RIP and 20% CTE. I don’t know if that’s the exact formula they used, OBVIOUSLY that’s a Dave and co. trade secret. But seriously, this new Megadeth crew knows what it’s doing, because this is probably hands-down the best album this band has put out since its heyday. And to be totally real: “Dystopia” shits all over “Killing Is My Business,” and “So Far, So Good, So What."

“Dystopia” also has some of the most well-written lyrics I’ve ever heard out of this band. OK, that’s not exactly the highest praise in the world, but they’re actually not that bad. For the most part the lyrics are fairly sophisticated, mature, and intelligent. They’re preachy and obnoxious at times, but hey, we’re talking Megadeth, here. You’re not listening to Megadeth right if you don’t occasionally want to tell Dave to shut the fuck up.

The only song I’ve got a legitimate problem with the lyrics to is fucking “Post American World.” Over-seasoned with psycho-patriot bullshit and less subtle than a fat, shirtless redneck standing on a monster truck at a Trump rally, a Coors Light in one hand and a loaded shotgun in the other, firing blindly into the sky and shouting something incoherent about immigrants. ‘Murica. Actually the real hell to “Post American World” is that it’s a pretty good song. So, thanks, Dave, and also fuck you.

Production is nice and tight, but the music doesn’t feel like it’s been engineered into oblivion. I’m pretty sure humans can make these sounds. The one addendum to that is that they clearly studio-magicked the fuck out of Dave’s voice. No beef with that, really. It’s been consistently weak, so you do what you can.

Highlights: “The Threat Is Real,” “Dystopia,” “Fatal Instinct” just for that fuckin’ killer bass riff at 0:56, “Poisonous Shadows,” “Lying in State,” and “The Emperor.”

Who the absolute fuck could have guessed that geriatric old Megadeth could still thrash with the best of them? New school thrashers gotta step their game up after this.

This has to be my most played album this year. Apart from anything, it's the only album released in 2016 that I actually own (though I'm looking through my crosshairs at Grand Magus) and, hands down, it's the one that's been in my head the most since I first listened to it. A history of Megadeth is not necessary here, but I would like to delve back as far as 'Th1rt3en' and my review of that album, which was easily summed up in one word: fun. Most Megadeth fans would lay their chips beside 'Endgame' as the best post-'Risk' release, though I guess that was mainly as a result of the album's heaviness and grit, while 'Th1rt3en' was pure entertainment. What makes 'Dystopia' a success is that it has taken a bite of the heavier, more deliberate side of Megadeth, while not ignoring the band's ability to write fun, catchy material.

Therefore, stylistically, this album receives very high praise from me, since it fails to fall into the trap of being technical but soulless, as well as that of being musically redundant. A definite factor in distancing 'Dystopia' from the last few albums is also the line-up changes, which have resulted in a specifically modern sound on some songs. We never slide right into metalcore territory, though there is a rather conspicuous breakdown lurking in 'Poisonous Shadows', while there are plenty of verse riffs that chug meatily with Chris Adler setting the pace. The crunch of the rhythm guitars and the gurgle of the bass will please new listeners and interest old fans (particularly after 'Super Collider'), while the leads still soar over most songs with vicious grace, though some of them just seem to miss that finishing touch that would have made them the highlight of the song, instead of merely a feature.

In terms of songs, 'Dystopia' also does pretty well. In my memory, there is no Megadeth album that has turned in great songs from start to finish, simply because Dave Mustaine's writing style is uniquely open to risk, so it would be foolish to expect a bursting bag of treats. Almost overwhelmingly, it is the more lyrically involved songs that prosper here, while those with simpler hooks sound more instinctive and are just a touch more effective. 'Post-American World', for example, is dark and brooding with some rather tricky soloing in its latter half, but has nothing that can make it ignite, remaining simply quite good, while the likes of 'Fatal Illusion' and 'Lying in State' opt to rip through a few riffs as Mustaine spews out polluted poetry, gaining much from the energy and enthusiasm. In the past, lyrics such as "The perfect plan / Must have an alibi / And the perfect pawn / To spew the party line / Of the perfect falsehood / Spoke a thousand times / The perfect words / Cover the greatest crime" would have been cynical and bitter, though here they turn into a kind of theatre that I'm only too happy to join in with - it's this kind of feature that gives the album great replay value. For pure infectiousness, 'The Emperor', the verses to the title track, and the bonus track 'Look Who's Talking' take the prize, while the storytelling in 'Bullet to the Brain' and 'Fatal Illusion' is a highlight too.

However, the first criticism I want to make is also about 'Look Who's Talking'. I just want to know: who the fuck decided to make that a bonus track? I mean, sure, it's not quite as serious or as technical as 'The Threat is Real', but sure as shit it's a better song. Mustaine on a rampage against a big mouth, great solos, and a chorus that you will need therapy to forget. Next, the title track, while excellent for its melodic first half, disintegrates into a poor man's 'Wake Up Dead' in its second, trying too hard to be that song and falling short of the kind of excellent rhythmic ideas that made it so irresistible. Then there's an instrumental and a cover that are both take-it-or-leave-it numbers (not bad, but inessential) and a few parts that just get away from the band, like those unfinished leads on a couple of songs.

So, Megadeth 2016 is surprisingly good, but predictably imperfect. What we have here is manifestly a good album and a very enjoyable listen with a few minor grumbles that are not too hard to accept. Cutting a perfect line between heavy and catchy, modern and classic, and familiar and novelty, 'Dystopia' deserves most of the praise that has come its way.

Much has already been made of Megadeth's fifteenth studio album, including the parallels that it has to past achievements like the classic Rust In Peace and the surprisingly satisfying Endgame. Like those two efforts, the recruitment of a new lead guitarist and drummer (Angra's Kiko Loureiro and Lamb of God's Chris Adler, respectively) reignites the energy that had been fading from the lineup before it and results in renewed senses of aggression and technicality. Dystopia may be a retread of an established pattern but it does develop a few tropes that had merely been hinted at through Megadeth's long career.

Seeing how Thirteen and Super Collider got their share of flak for moving away from the standard Megadeth sound, it is interesting to note that Dystopia may be the style dialed down even better than Endgame ever did. Not only are the songs more energetic and Dave Mustaine's vocals tougher, but the songwriting makes use of the structural complexity to extents that haven't been seen in some time. This is most evident in the opening songs as the ultra melodic title track crosses the drive of "Hangar 18" with the closing stomp on "Wake Up Dead" and "Fatal Illusion" dances about numerous tempo changes in a way that recalls "Bad Omen."

But what really makes Dystopia stand out is the heightened sense of drama compared to their other recent efforts. Megadeth has always flirted with backing vocals and classical instrumentation but it's never taken on such a cinematic quality. From the Middle Eastern vocals that open "The Threat Is Real" to the climactic vocal lines on "Death From Within" and building swells on "Conquer Or Die," Dystopia showcases theatrics that haven't gotten their chance to shine in quite some time. Props must be given to Loureiro for working in his power metal influences in a way that Marty Friedman or Chris Broderick never pulled off.

Of course, the album still has its share of imperfections. The heightened technical prowess and polished production job do highlight Dave Mustaine's diminishing vocal performance and less commanding energy. In addition, the attempts at rock & roll attitude on "The Emperor" and take on Fear's "Foreign Policy" end up sounding out of place and close the album on a rather underwhelming note.

While Dystopia isn't a perfect album and I may actually prefer Endgame by a hair, it is interesting to see Megadeth once again assume the role of the strongest band left of the original 80s thrash scene. The songs find ways to be memorable and the overall presentation elevates them to a greater level of grandiosity. Considering the trajectories that occurred in the wake of the band's past successes, it'll be interesting and potentially horrifying to see how things evolve from here...

Highlights:
"The Threat Is Real"
"Dystopia"
"Death From Within"
"Poisonous Shadows"
"Conquer or Die"

2016 was not off to a good start for us headbangers with Lemmy Kilmister's passing, but I am happy and proud to say that this latest Megadeth statement helped jerk me out of my mourning phase.

More than thirty years into their career, Megadeth has managed to craft one of their stronger all-time records. As the excellent cyborg-apocalypse album art shows, the band has its finger on the fear and anger over the state of our world in 2016, with strong, tight, relevant music to match.

The first three songs are the ones that have gotten the most attention thus far, and it's easy to see why as it shows right away that the new lineup (Mr. Kiko Loureiro on lead guitar and Mr. Chris Adler on drums) gels excellently with the Megadeth experience. The requirements for this are well-known by this point: be able to have a quality guitar duel with Mustaine, and master the energetic riff-and-rhythm shifts that make the band's finest moments so essential.

"The Threat Is Real" has a wondrous Middle Eastern-flavored guitar intro and a high-powered, ending drum break. The title track is the Kiko Loureiro show, with his computer-like tapping standing toe-to-toe with Mustaine's shredding. Even Dave "Junior" Ellefson gets in on the party with his bass solo spot in "Fatal Illusion." Make no mistake, the new lineup is here to shred. Taken together, this trio of heavy hitters is one of the overall "best starts" to a Megadeth album.

Mustaine's vocals are deeper, more intense, and meaner--no doubt he is pissed off. Occasionally with the harmonization, his vocals sound cyborg-like, as though he is snarling through Vic Rattlehead's new helmet. His lyrics shrink not from political topics--his frightful, dystopian vision of the future illustrated in "Post American World" features one of the best guitar duels on the record, and a splashy, energetic drum performance to back up the simpler riffing.

"There's creeping hate if you resist the false narrative/Crushing all the dissenters who still think for themselves," he preaches.

He continues the verbal assault on those in power with "Lying In State" and "The Emperor," reminding us of the classic tale of the emperor having no clothes, and wondering how future, undoubtedly more-enlightened generations will portray us. No matter who is in charge, Mustaine can always be counted on to call them out somehow. But even these songs are not mere vehicles for a political scree: "Lying In State" features a killer riff outro, and "The Emperor" wails along with catchy string bends reminiscent of an air-raid siren...

Remain calm, citizen. There is nothing to see here...

The band is once again all about the thrash for the most part. Exceptions are parts of "Post American World," which has a quasi-ballad pace for half of the song, touched up with piano and strings, and the flamenco-tap intro on "Conquer or Die!" The latter instrumental quickly winds itself up into yet another thrilling guitar battle. And as a finale, Dave reaches all the way back to his hardcore-punk roots for a cover of Fear's "Foreign Policy," a forceful, intense quickie that is my "other" favorite track on Dystopia.

The dark-comic backstory of Dystopia (including the origins of the cover art) also gets filled in from the music videos filmed for the album and shown on tour, so be sure to catch it if you want the full-body immersion! No matter what devastating losses may come to its musicians and fans, these will not stop metal's boldest from soldiering ever onward. My hat is absolutely off to MegaDave and this fantastic new lineup for reminding me of this truth. Dystopia is the first metal masterpiece of 2016.

Originally written for www.headofmetal.com

It seems like ever since the early 1990s came to a close, Megadeth has been a good band and they've been making good albums (with some bad ones as well), but they just haven't done anything that can be considered great. Some albums were pretty good, but just not great. They have tried to return to form from time to time again, but it just hasn't worked out for them. The radio material was the least successful material of it all, but the non-commercial material got a much warmer reception. But many (myself included) have had a much warmer reception to the classics. It was very obvious that what the band desperately needed was a return to their thrash roots. They have done that before, but they just didn't make it quite the same. What the band really needed was to do an album that contained thrash metal done right... and following over two decades, they have finally crafted that very album.

This album is a MASSIVE comeback. It was made during the time when everybody was beginning to doubt that the band was still capable of what they were, during their classic days. This was the band's medicine for it. For the majority of people, myself included, it was effective. This album is the result of the decision made by Dave Mustaine to never write another radio song ever again. When you listen to this album, you know that what he decided on was for the better. The music here is bold, stripped down and heavy. It doesn't have any sappy moments whatsoever and it does all that it needs to do to please fans of old school thrash metal. It doesn't try to be overly dark and/or atmospheric. what it does try to do is just be one of the most awesome, gritty and as in-your-face albums as possible. In many ways, it succeeds. Sure, it has its flaws, but it is the positive material that outweighs the negative.

The title track is quite a highlight for me. It has a simple, yet astoundingly effective main riff and some very effective drum-rhythms as well. Good lyricism and a satisfyingly tight songwriting structure come together to make a very amusing track. Another song with a simple, but tightly effective main guitar riff is "The Emperor". Lyrical metaphor galore on this track makes it all the more charismatic. That's pretty much a prominent thing that can be found on this album... stripped down music with big lyrics. That's what Megadeth is known for. It's something for everyone to enjoy. Another track with a great riff is the Spotify bonus track, "Melt the Ice Away". It has a very 1980s speed metal feel and it doesn't let you relax for a moment anywhere, which is just what is required of a song like this. The riff is catchy and actually is one of the most (if not the most) complex ones on the album. It sounds a bit similar to the material that you would find on Helloween's "My God-Given Right", which was released during the previous year, 2015. The ballad, ''Poisonous Shadows'' doesn't really focus all that hard on having a good riff, but having a melody line that everything else just soars over. It excels masterfully and proves that the absence of all of that quite well-known big bad riffing does not make their music not turn out to be good (although the riffs are one of the best things about their music) and it can actually be quite decent.

Some of the material that I never really was able to enjoy as much was the album's opener, "The Threat is Real", which seems to have the usual ingredients, but it just doesn't execute them as nicely. It seems unoriginal, bland and kinda boring to be, but it has a few cool bits and pieces here and there. "Fatal Illusion" has some good riffs, but everything else just seemed to be filler. They didn't seem to focus on what everything else had and just put all of their thought into the rhythm-guitar work. Even the solo here seems a little lackluster. Solos are one of the best things that come up in a Megadeth song. This just doesn't make sense.

One thing that is often addressed about this album is the lyricism. People are saying that there is nothing new here and Dave Mustaine seems as if he just has the same pessimistic social views as he did thirty years ago. Sure, the lyrics are nothing new, but they are just as powerful as the ones thirty years ago. They address popular social issues and they always seem to make a good point. Sometimes, they are not even put within the minds of many listeners and non-listeners alike. For example, "Post-American World" does a great job of giving off the idea of the so possibly dystopic world after the fall of America, if it ever happens. Sure, it doesn't always do this, but for the most part, it seems to be a group of rather insightful lyricism.

This album is a return to form and it was just what the band needed. It's the album that we have all been waiting for and despite its flaws, it does not prevent itself from being great, almost exceptional. Hopefully, there will be more thrash releases such as this from the band, as well as more of them overall. There haven't really been enough of them lately. Metallica has an album that seems promising. Maybe it is a build on the return to the ever so bountiful form that was "Death Magnetic", but as of the first month of the year, this is the best comeback of the year and best thrash release to be put out in a rather decent amount of time. This is a pretty good accomplishment for a band that's been around for the amount of time that Megadeth has.

So Dave Mustaine is back with his newest incarnation of Megadeth. After the last two albums did not sit well with most fans of this classic band, one was forced to begin thinking that Dave was done. Topped with half of the band calling it quits I was left to wonder where would Dave go from there. Once it was announced that highly skilled axeman Kiko Loureiro (Angra) was joining the band on the new album there seemed to be some hope but even then I realized that, even with the inclusion of such a talent, at the end of the day it would be the songs that matter. So when their fifteenth full length, Dystopia, dropped, I was pleasantly surprised with the finished product.

I think the one thing working in Dave's favor here is his decision to allow Kiko and guest drummer, Chris Adler (Lamb of God), to have some creative input into the album. It's apparent because this is a well thought out album with some great moments, even some moments that are not typical of Megadeth's sound but are still great metal nonetheless. The opener, "The Threat is Real," comes out of the gate with a cool Eastern feel before it kicks your ass. The solos are incredible as one would expect from the talent on display here. Then the title track kicks in sounding very melodic with some cool lead riffing. This is not a real heavy thrash song. Instead you have a well constructed heavy metal song that has a lot of power metal elements in it. Kiko's solos are fucking incredible and some of them actually remind me of Marty Friedman. So this is where I begin to think that this is going to be a winner.

Of course you have songs like "Fatal Illusion" that has Mustaine's signature all over it. A fast thrasher with some killer guitar battles going on. I'm not a big fan of Lamb of God or that metalcore style but Chris Adler proves here that he is a pretty impressive drummer, especially on this song. "Bullet to the Brain" and "Post American World" are interesting songs that have some cool grooves to them. Dave's singing in a lower register and almost sounds like Chuck Billy in places on the former and the latter is pretty much one of Dave's pedestals to which to let us all know his political views but in a rather catchy song. It's by this time that you'll discover that the inclusion of Kiko Loureiro into this band was a brilliant idea. I can't mention his solos enough as he just shreds through every song.

The true star of this album is "Poisonous Shadows." This is a complex song with many layers and this is the song that sounds like a true group effort. After a nice clean intro the song get's that Eastern feel to it with the opening lead being so melodic and clean. Then comes the thunder with Chris Adler showing his meticulous timekeeping mixed with some serious skills. The song's darker feel is done with class and skill with the chorus adding to the epic feel of this song with it's eerie melody. This is possibly the best song that Megadeth has done in a very long time.

This album does have a few flaws which, fortunately, do not take too much away from the great moments on this album. "The Emperor" is not that great of a song and could have been left off the album. I have the Limited Edition with the two bonus tracks and you're not missing much here either. "Last Dying Wish" is the better of the two because between the silliness in which he presented the lyrics there's a pretty good tune here. The message is that he did listen to the fans and he's right, this was his last chance for me because one more turd and I would have given up on this band for good. "Look Who's Talking" is one of those songs that gives the Dave haters ammunition. As mature as this album is, this song is an immature attempt for Dave to keep his bad ass image intact, I guess. I'm not sure but whatever the case, I have little use for "I'll kick your ass" songs.

So at the end of the day, it seems Dave has redeemed himself with me, for now. He does seem to have a history putting out a monster album only follow it up with a turd so we'll see what the future has in store. All I know is that this is a really good effort by a classic band and one that caught me by surprise. I was not expecting to like this but I'm glad I was caught off guard. Now let's see how he follows this up.


The Elitist Metalhead

Dystopian fiction has been a very appropriate template for many great metal albums, owing mostly to the aggressive tendencies of said musical style matching up perfectly with the feelings of revulsion that the reader experiences while reading such works. But the adoption of the generic title of said genre as an album title can be a bit cryptic, as the term could potentially denote a possible future or even a critique of the present in a more direct way than the metaphorical medium of fiction. A few years back Jon Schaffer took on the title for an album that largely depicted a number of famous works of fiction, though one could infer that he did so due to his recently discovered social consciousness and political activism in anti-establishment circles, culminating a separate side project dubbed Sons Of Liberty. Dave Mustaine, also no stranger to mixing politics with metal, has opted for an even less subtle approach and simply blurts out "Hey, the world is screwed up, and I'm going to beat you over the head with the reasons why until you acknowledge it!" on Megadeth's latest offering Dystopia.

But the overlapping worlds of politics and fiction aside, Mustaine has managed to do the virtually impossible yet again, namely rebuild the Megadeth lineup and hit thrash metal pay dirt yet again. While technically speaking the inclusion of Lamb Of God's Chris Adler is not in a full member capacity, his presence along with 6-string shredding genius Kiko Loureiro of Angra fame are an all out boon to Megadeth's sound, bringing a sense of virtuosity not seen since Rust In Peace and a sense of modern aggression not seen at any point in their history into the equation. The musical consequence is an album that, while borrowing heavily from Megadeth's past stylistic template circa 1988-1992, comes off as completely brand new, fresh, and in a class all its own. It embodies all the neck-wrenching percussive thunder and riff-based heaviness that one expects from a pure thrash assault, but tempered into a multifaceted whole where atmospherics, melody and shifts in feel trade blows with the otherwise largely up tempo assault.

In contrast to Megadeth's last exemplary offering Endgame, this album comes closer to matching the compact yet elaborate and hard-hitting character of the old days, often echoing some of the old classics through a darker medium. Perhaps the most overt examples of this trend towards revisiting the past with an eye to the future is the title song "Dystopia", which sounds pretty close to an unofficial third installment of "Hanger 18" with Kiko perfectly impersonating the blinding stream of notes approach of Marty Friedman, and "Post American World" which has a fairly similar character to that of "Symphony Of Destruction" mixed with a bit of "Trust" at times, though at times faster and more agitated sounding. In fact, the overall trading of leads throughout this album between Dave and Kiko is probably the most successful recreation of the old Dave and Marty trade-offs that occurred during Megadeth's early 90s era.

Then again, at other times the band finds themselves in brand new territory due to the involvement of either Kiko or Adler. While this album's second promotional single "The Threat Is Real" has all the trappings of another guitar oriented thrasher from the Rust In Peace playbook, the ambient intro with the Middle-Eastern vocal tune is a new one on this band and gives the album a far more ominous air from its very beginning. This is echoed in introductory material intermittently placed throughout the album, be it a creepy acoustic intro that kicks off the down tempo yet meaty "Poisonous Shadows" (Alder's drum work gives this one a bit more bite than a typical down-tempo Megadeth offering), another acoustic intro with a military snare line kicking off the chunky groove number "Bullet To The Brain", or the flowing stream of classical guitar brilliance to make Andres Segovia proud the leads off the instrumental "Conquer Or Die", followed by even more virtuoso brilliance out of Kiko, who seems hellbent on upstaging every single one of his predecessors.

All of the praise being heaped on this album is rightfully deserved, regardless of whether the lyrical content contained within is nothing new to anyone who listens to more than three metal bands and Dave possessing about half of the vocal range he had back in the 80s. This is an album that is built off of punchy riff work, spellbinding guitar soloing and a thunderous rhythmic section, and it does not suffer an iota from Mustaine's voice being a bit haggard and rough around the edges or from his tendency to play the narrator as much as the singer, which is mercifully less often than some previous efforts. Some songs hit a little harder than others, but this is a consistent thrill ride from start to finish that surpasses recent and respectable efforts such as United Abominations and Endgame and blows everything else this band has done since Youthanasia completely out of the water. Though they're getting some decent competition from the guys in Anthrax of late, with this album Megadeth has yet again reasserted themselves as the current leaders of the so-called Big Four, and it's a foregone conclusion that if Metallica manages to get an album out this year that it won't come close to touching this.

Just when I thought it was safe to effectively write off Megadeth as officially out of ideas (or at least good ideas), I am treated to this collective of powerful, thrash metal perfection called Dystopia. As a friend of mine remarked on social media, I'm not sure what fire was lit under Dave Mustaine's ass, but we like it!

What we have here is a seemingly reinvigorated quartet that just kicked off my year nicely, considering last year's musical output was, for me, lackluster for the most part. When I say this is the best Megadeth album in the last 20-years, I say that with no trepidation whatsoever (and I actually rather enjoyed a large portion of Endgame). The addition of Kiki Loureiro from Angra has proven to be one hell of an acquisition; I'm not sure if the new blood was what kicked this album into gear, but this lineup is probably the best Megadeth line-up in as many years. I'm ecstatic to see the band back to the familiar form of a hungry, heavy metal machine.

The album kicks off with "The Threat is Real", a slow build-up emerging into my ears, followed by a tremendously speedy riff galloping perfectly into my sensory chamber. Dave's vocals are a bit gruffer with age but a solid fit due in large part to his not attempting to push boundaries where none are to be pushed. What I find most engaging are the guitars - fast and furious, yet stylish with some great hooks - and I'm even more enthralled to find that this isn't a one or two-off occurence; the album is rife with such moments of musical lucidity. We seem to get a taste of every single era of Megadeth wrapped up in Dystopia, though the Youthanasia to Countdown to Extinction era is quite prevalent throughout. I feel like a 19-year old kid again that's overly excited by a Megadeth release, and there's nary a weak or contrived moment herein.

Aside from a stellar production and revitalized musicianship, the added flavor of this album is the lyrical content, where Mustaine doesn't deviate far from any suggested blueprint. Social segregation, dangerous and forbidden liaisons, a degenerative society crumbling under the weight of political correctness (without overt preaching) are all covered with a swift, yet finely-crafted energy that never falls into trite predictability. The title track is destined to become an instant Megadeth classic, while "Post America World" is a somber warning on the current state of the world and just what lies ahead. This type of cryptic musing is Dave Mustaine's strong point and always has been, and it hasn't been nearly up to snuff in recent years, starkly evident by Super Collider and its infantile musings that are almost cringe-worthy. From "The Conjuring" through "Holy Wars...the Punishment Due" up through "Lying in State" and "Bullet to the Brain", there is always a distinct shadow over Mustaine's writing that pulls no punches and awakens the stagnant mind's eye to both the hidden and plain-view horrors of modern civilization. After hearing this album for the third time I keep reminding myself that Megadeth, while largely hit-or-miss in recent years, is back with a rancorous vengeance, my friends. One word I keep seeing when Dystopia is mentioned is "rejuvenated", and it seems to be the mass consensus. It's about time!

What has happened to Megadeth over the last few albums is a familiar sandtrap that too many bands fall into where an album has anywhere from one to three charging songs that resonate (if only momentarily), then falls apart in spotted, uninspired disarray. Metallica hasn't been able to crawl out of this particular hole since 1991, and many "classic" bands are also unwitting victims to this particularly unsilent killer. I can't state any more emphatically how good this Megadeth album is from start to finish. I've seen some random comments on social media about how many people gave up on Megadeth but decided to give this current album a go-round after I praised it for being a return to form. I guess when you're known to be particularly hard to please in my middle-aged old fart state, some folks take it to heart when I actually hail something on such high. So far I've only read one unimpressed comment amid a sea of surprised and excited sentences, and that makes me feel damn good. Megadeth is a large part of my life and many people's lives, good, bad and ugly, and to see them return to a nearly-forgotten form is both illuminating and thrilling.

One of the 11 standouts on the album is the instrumental "Conquer or Die", a groovy little three-minute-plus venture that transitions from subtle acoustic harmony smack dab into a crunching scale-driven opus of sheer orgasmic polish. The Fear cover of "Foreign Policy" is brilliant, showcasing Dave Mustaine's longtime love and admiration for the punk era. There is a tight-knit uniform surrounding the Daves, Kiko ands Chris Adler from Lamb of God who is handling the drumming on the record, and I sincerely hope that the core of this line-up stays around for a while. I believe there was a Megadeth album that stated that "...the world needs a hero", and this piece is a definitive hero all over. For me, I think this album might be a top five contender at year's end, and I've a distinct feeling I won't be alone in that assertion.

Welcome back, Megadeth...we've missed you!

(Originally written for www.metalpsalter.com)

Megadeth's 'Dystopia' is an interesting one. Here, front-man Dave Mustaine writes directly from the heart. His lyrics have always been about war, death, terror and New World Order type of things, but never has it been as extremely... well, obvious as on 'Dystopia'. Needless to say, for a post-apocalyptic world, where everything has gone wrong for humanity - America in particular - his paranoia-inducing lyrics fit the bill, I assume. What about the music?

Well, looking at the album cover could give the about-to-listener an idea of what the sound is like. It looks mechanical / robotic, and unfortunately that's the downside of 'Dystopia'.

There absolutely are some pretty catchy riffs here and there. Album opener "The Threat Is Real" has a pretty old-school thrash metal vibe to it with excellent lead-and-solo guitars. The title-track "Dystopia", is actually really good. It's a melodic piece that sounds like a song that could be on Rust In Peace. Shortly after, though, the problem with 'Dystopia' becomes evident. While the leads and solos continue to be good, the riffing can become a bit stale. There's too much robotic chugging.

Also, Mustaine's vocals; while never good, are fucked. He sounds like a caricature of himself on this album; and the combination of this and the mechanical guitars can soon become overwhelming. The blame for the headache-inducing sound lies with somewhere with the production work. The music itself isn't at all that bad, but the vocals and guitars are SO thick and high in the mix that it drowns out any other elements of the album (with the exception of the cleverly-utilized keys on "Poisonous Shadows").

With 'Dystopia', Megadeth have crafted an album that quite comfortably stands as their strongest in two decades. Fans of the band's old school fiery leads and solos will find some joy here; as will fans of the more melodic and emotional side of metal music. The mid-section of the album is a haze, but it opens and finishes strongly. If only the guitars and vocals didn't completely drown out the bass and drums...

To generally sum up my thoughts, I’d say that Dystopia is overall solid; it has a good mix of mid-paced chuggers and fun thrashy numbers that are diverse enough to not get monotonous. Stylistically, it's right in between Rust In Peace and Countdown to Extinction. I think for the most part each song has its feet firmly planted in one camp or the other, but as a whole album, Dystopia fits snugly in the middle. Interestingly, I judged from the three singles that this would sound like Endgame, one of my favorite ‘deth albums, but there wasn’t as much of a similarity as I was expecting. Fortunately that’s not a bad thing, as the sound was different enough to make the album feel fresh but still familiar.

It isn’t a perfect album, of course, so I’ll get my complaints out of the way first. While Dave sounds re-energized here, he re-uses some ideas too often; for example, any variation of a fade-in intro. I think over half of the songs have that, and it starts getting tiresome. On the opposite side of the song, the speed-up-double-time-to-the-finish outro is used too much as well (I’m talking about the kind at the end of the title track and a few others). It sounds good at first, but they resort to it a few too many times instead of mixing it up. There’s one song I actively dislike, which is “Post American World.” The intro/verse riffs aren’t bad, but the pre-chorus and chorus are weak, drone-y (not in the good way) and annoying. The solo section is also very awkward and out-of-place and doesn’t add much to it. Fortunately, that’s the only truly bad song here.

Apart from those complaints, though, the whole album ranged from good to killer. The first three songs, all singles, are inspired and fun headbangers that kick off the album nicely. “Dystopia” and “Fatal Illusion” have noticeable parallels to “Hangar 18” and “Black Friday,” respectively, but are still very original-sounding. “Death From Within” is similar but starts to stray into more unfamiliar territory; there are some lightning-quick guitar licks in the verses that sneak up and surprise you, and Chris Adler really makes his presence known on drums when he smashes away at the cymbals. “Bullet to the Brain” mixes it up with a 2/3 time signature in the verse and gives us a lot of guitar leads to chew on. “Poisonous Shadows” is an effective ballad that sounds almost power-metal-like at times but remains aggressive. Parts of it sound like “The Hardest Part of Letting Go…Sealed With A Kiss” from Endgame.

“Conquer or Die” is a decent instrumental with a nice, tasty solo that goes on forever. It’s not Megadeth’s best instrumental—it doesn’t even touch “Into the Lungs of Hell”—but it gets the job done. That leads into “Lying in State,” which is probably the thrashiest number on the album. Once again, Adler is a beast on the drums, and Dave’s vocals sound pissed off and—dare I say it?—youthful. “The Emperor” is a very punky song, which at times reminds me of “Washington is Next” from United Abominations. The album closes with “Foreign Policy,” a Fear cover that, oddly enough, sounds more metal to me than “The Emperor.” At any rate, it’s a blistering and fun-as-hell ride to cap things off and features some of Dave’s best vocal work on the album.

While I haven't heard any of Kiko's previous material and therefore can't give him his due credit, I will say that his effect is felt profoundly on Dystopia. The lead guitars sound different from any other Megadeth album. The dual guitar section on “Bullet to the Brain,” for instance, features two very different but equally good leads played together. They counterpoint each other excellently and create one of the album's best solos. Another favorite moment is in the intro to “Dystopia,” featuring a lead part which, while simple, blends beautifully with the Iron Maiden-like riff underneath. And there is a LOT of lead guitar on this album, but it rarely sounds dry or repetitive.

I could go on more, but I think that suffices. Dystopia is a solid, strong offering from the new Megadeth lineup. It doesn’t push as many boundaries as I would have liked, and some ideas are recycled a few too many times, and there is one song I don’t care for, but all that aside, I think this is a great comeback effort from Dave. He sounds inspired and energized by the youth around him, and hopefully we can see more good material from this lineup in the future. I give it a 7/10.

I often suffer from being a permanent optimist, and Dave Mustaine has, on more than one occasion, been the cause of my suffering. Megadeth were one of the first bands I ever truly loved - a 'genesis' band, if you will. I discovered them around the time "The World Needs A Hero" was released (yes, I'm only 22). The following "The System Has Failed" was a varied and incredibly exciting album for 11-year-old me. "United Abominations" came as something of a disappointment which grew over time until the smackdown of 2009's "Endgame" knocked me on my ass. I felt alone in my appreciation for "Thirteen", and "Supercollider" was the biggest flop of 2012 from any band ever. So what mixture of emotions was I supposed to experience upon the release of 2016's "Dystopia"? Well - relief and sheer joy, as it turns out!

I'm sure we can all agree that Dave Mustaine is a massive dick. His pseudo-political ramblings and questionable viewpoints should always be ignored in favour of the excellent modern thrash metal he is capable of writing. I mention this now, because if you can't get over right-wing lyrics, then opening track "The Threat Is Real", with its eastern melodies and not-even-subtle themes, will turn you away like sour milk. What is actually on offer is some galloping chugging, blazing fretwork and snarling sneers from our man Mustaine. Once the first verse reaches its climax - "The vultures have come home to nest!" - one can't help but smirk with content and think 'Dave got it right, the marvellous bastard!'.

31 years after Megadeth's debut, it's a little futile to mention line-up changes; however, the re-jigged cast-list on "Dystopia" sure helps inject a lethal dose of energy into the sound. The two mainstay Daves, Mustaine and Ellefson (the Maindaves, if you will), come across as hungry as they did back in 1985. Kiko Loureiro's riffwork is downright thrashtastic, and the occasional licks he provides can easily live up to Mustaine himself. There was plenty to be said about Chris Adler's involvement all over the internet - however, it's clear that the Lamb of God man suits the Megadeth crew down to the ground. The double-bass frenzies rattle like Vic, and he even throws in a few irregular rhythms to keep the listener on their toes (the off-kilter hi-hats in "Death From Within" especially).

It would be a step too far to say that Mustaine's songwriting has reached an artistic peak on this album. It's more accurate to disclose that he reliably churns out gem after gem of thrash classics that plainly have the patented Megadeth stamp on them. The irregular song-structures, the complex riffage, fitting in a guitar solo wherever he may think appropriate... It's been that way since '85 and he ain't stopping now. Take the title-track for example: it resembles "Hangar 18" in both structure and atmosphere. Right down to the haunting leads and rapid outro. And god, don't we love it?! The same can be said for "Post American World" and its similarity to the iconic "Symphony of Destruction". That mid-tempo chug is irresistibly headbang-able!

The spine-tingling moments on "Dystopia" are what prove Megadeth is still capable of carrying thrash forward further into the 21st century. "Fatal Illusion" embodies a futuristic vibe, especially with the layered vocals. But the progressive tinge and sense of drive keep it vigorously pushing directly into the listener's brain. "Lying in State" is surely the contender for 'thrash song of the year' - I don't care if it's only February. The opening riff utterly explodes with heaviness, thanks to the beefed-up guitar tone, and the section after the first solo is sheer thrash perfection. My neck hurts just thinking about it! Speaking of the guitar-tone; it's unbelievably heavy for such a technically reliant band. Listen to the verses of "Poisonous Shadows" - that grinding rhythm sounds as heavy as Megadeth could possibly sound.

The few oddities on this release are not what I would consider 'fodder' - but exactly that: oddities. "Conquer or Die", as the token instrumental, sets itself up to be the next "Into The Lungs of Hell" or "Dialectic Chaos" but unfortunately never crawls above a mid-tempo pace - wasting what could have been. Closing track "The Emperor" doesn't quite fit in with the tone of the album - emitting a more groovy rock'n'roll attitude. Cool as it is, it remains an oddity, and tempting to skip. But Dave thankfully shows off his hardcore punk influences right before the disc stops spinning with a furious cover of Fear's "Foreign Policy". Snarling, vicious and politically sharp - this is just the ticket for a Megadeth cover - echoing the brilliant Sex Pistols cover from 1988.

You can complain about the questionable variation of quality from Megadeth since the turn of the millennium - but at least they've given us plenty of material to work with, the majority of it of very high standard! Which is more than that...other band...can attest to. Metalli-whatsit? Mellacita? Something like that. Sorry Hetfield & co. - you grow continually more obsolete as aeons pass waiting for your next quality release. Meanwhile, the future of thrash metal can rest easy in the hands of Overkill, Testament, Exodus, Anthrax, Kreator, Heathen...and Vic Rattlehead of course.

"A fatal shot,
A lust for blood,
The final act,
The threat is real!"

I've never been a fan of Megadeth due to their confusingly inconsistent line-ups, an almost constant and significant decrease in musical quality over the past twenty years and especially due to the increasingly weak vocals performing vapid lyrics. ''Dystopia'' comes as a positive surprise and is easily the best Megadeth output since ''Youthanasia'' twenty-two years earlier.

The success of this release is based upon several elements. First of all, new guitarist Kiko Loureiro of Angra fame delivers an excellent job. His guitar work is technically appealing, the melodies he plays are highly emotional and his style is diversified but still has a clear guiding line. He harmonizes perfectly with Dave Mustaine who offers some of the most gripping riffs he has ever written.

The second reason for this return to form is the interesting dystopian concept and the way the band dealt with it. The album has a constant dystopian atmosphere and the sum of the different tracks is even more convincing than its different parts. It's also positive to see that Dave Mustaine didn't include too much political propaganda on this record and the few references to contemporary American politics aren't too shallow, obvious and nasty. A closer look at the solid lyrics is definitely recommended.

The third reason for the greatness of this output is its diversity despite its clear intellectual and atmospheric guide line. ''The Threat is Real'' is an excellent opener with Indian folk chants, powerful riffs, a chaotic yet gripping chorus and numerous excellent melodic guitar solos. The mixture of melodic yet technically appealing guitar riffs and surprisingly melodic vocals in the brilliant title song ''Dystopia'' has an almost progressive metal touch. ''Post American World'' is a sinister mid-tempo stomper with dominating bass parts and more stunning guitar solos. ''The Emperor'' has more classic heavy metal and hard rock riffs and the whole tune is crowned with the record's catchiest chorus. Two other songs really stand out on this album. The epic ''Poisonous Shadows'' is filled with creative diversity including breathtaking guitar solos, fluid changes of atmosphere and style and a moving piano coda. This track is one of the best Megadeth songs ever written in my book. The closing ''Foreign Policy'' is a take on the Fear track of the same name and usually I'm not the biggest fan of cover songs but this one here's a real grower. The track reminds me a lot of early Voivod. It has an untamed punk vibe, dystopian solos and liberatingly angry vocals. Since no other band produces more realistic dystopian sounds than Voivod, this reference is quite positive and ends a very good album on a strong note.

Another amazing thing about the album is that the few average tracks can be found in different places on the album. The choice for the track list is very efficient. The opening tracks are really strong, the middle part is outstanding and the final part is also top notch. The record never decreases in quality. The five different bonus track are solid but they are bonus songs for a good reason since they can't catch up with this album's greatest cuts. That's why it doesn't matter at all which version you buy in the end.

Colour me surprised but ''Dystopia'' is more than just a return to form for band that has disappointed me for a very long time. This record does everything right where the previous albums failed for different reasons. Even the vocals finally sound convincing and suit the topic despite a slight decrease of skills due to Dave Mustaine's age and lifestyle. The band sounds hungry again and I hope this new line-up will stay together for a while. Fans of dystopian concept and good heavy, progressive and thrash metal can't get around this early highlight of the year.

To say expectations for this album were low would be an understatement. And after the (united) abominations that were Thirteen and Super Collider, can you really blame fans for not being as excited for a new Megadeth album as they once were? However, as each single was released, my expectations grew. I still wasn't expecting to be blown away by it, but I certainly was interested. So, does Dystopia revive Megadeth or finally prove that the band is truly dead?

Dystopia is as front-loaded as an album can be. I understand the reason for this, they needed to get people excited for the rest of the album, but they put the 3 already released songs first. To say this hurts the album would be putting it nicely. Firstly, it makes you wait about 15 minutes to actually hear new material. Secondly, these 3 songs are the best tracks on the album. This means that the rest of the album never lives up to the excitement the first 15 minutes built, or would have built had we not already heard the songs. Imagine if Ride The Lightning had "Fade To Black", "For Whom the Bell Tolls", and "Creeping Death" as the first 3 songs? It would make the rest of the album feel like a let down, even though the rest of that album is great. It's just a poor choice that makes the album feel like 3 great songs with a good number of after-thoughts. This doesn't mean that these songs are awful, just that they are drastically inferior. That doesn't mean there aren't awful songs on display here though. Even when not compared to the first three tracks, songs such as "Post American World" are absolutely laughable, and the song "Bullet To The Brain" makes me want to live up to the title. Where once Dave's voice was grimy and dirty, now it is just embarrassingly unintentionally cheesy. I'll talk more about his voice later though.

New band member's Chris Adler and Kiko Loureino don't exactly have much to prove, as both are well respected musicians from well known bands, but it was still uncertain how their playing would mesh with Dave's artistic vision. Megadeth has always been a true band, but a band with a very clear leader, and as such all member's contributions had to fit what Dave was wanting. Loureino's more power metal and neo-classical stylings and Chris Adler's more metalcore oriented drumming, while great in their other bands, easily could have not worked well with the Megadeth sound. However, both men both conform enough to the tradiotnal Megadeth fans happy, while providing enough of their own spin on things to help make this album stand out. Kiko's guitar work is reminiscent of Marty Friedman, but never sounds like he's trying to emulate his style. Both musicians are accomplished neo-classical musicians, but Kiko is above all else a power metal guitarist. Chris Adler's drumming is mostly focused on driving the music, never taking center stage but always powerfully propelling the music forward. Kiko's guitar-work helps the music feel grand and epic, while Chris Adler's drumming helps to keep things grounded. Not to take away from Mustaine and Ellefson, who both give their best musical performances since Endgame. Ellefson's bass gets to shine here a little more than usual, able to come to the front of the music occasionally and provide his typical groovy basslines. Mustaine also offers his most interesting riffs in years, being both complex and focused. This leads to Dystopia having the best music a Megadeth album has had in a long time, at least since Endgame. However there are moments where it seems that everyone was on different pages. This is expected, as half the band members are new and had never worked with anyone in the band before, while the other half has been in the band for 30 years. However, this doesn't happen often enough to severely hurt the album.

While the music here is without a doubt great, there is a pretty big elephant in the room, that being Mustaine's voice. It's not unexpected for a 54 year old man to not be able to hit the notes he could at 24, but that fact does nothing to help the fact that the vocals on this album pretty much stay within a four note range the whole time. This makes songs that are distinct musically blend together, as Mustaine's voice is high in the mix. This problem isn't too noticeable when listening to the songs separate, but when you sit down for 50 minutes to listen to the whole thing, it becomes impossible to ignore. On top of that, the lyrics are pretty bland too. Blah blah blah the world is falling to pieces blah blah blah. It's stuff we've heard Megadeth deal with before, but done less well. That isn't to say the lyrics here are completely trash, it's just rehashed ideas that aren't as good as they were the first time we heard them.

Production wise, it's a step in the right direction for Megadeth, being less compressed that previous albums. In the era of the loudness war, it's nice to hear an album that hasn't had the life compressed out of it. The bass is nice and thick, guitars sharp and clean, and well defined drumming. Nothing too impressive, but it doesn't hold the album back in any way, shape, or form.

In short, Dystopia almost completely rights the wrongs of Thirteen and Super Colider. Megadeth has once again come back from the grave, and with a new lineup of diverse musicians, I expect for Megadeth to stay. Mustaine's voice is aging rapidly, but his guitar riffs sound as good as ever. It's all around a very solid record, one that every Megadeth fan at least needs to check out once.

When I first saw this album announced I had trouble really caring very much. 2013′s Super Collider wasn’t very good and 2011′s Th1rt3en (which I still think was an absolutely abysmal title choice) before that wasn’t great either. You have to go all the way back to 2009′s Endgame to find the last Megadeth album I really cared for. But, despite my misgivings about the title, cover art, and what was likely to be the lyrical themes, I gave this album a shot.

Some what surprisingly, Megadeth managed to cobble together a really decent, solid album with Dystopia. This album reminds me a lot of Endgame in the way that it is an attempt to harness some of the old school Megadeth sound that a lot of fans have been clamoring for after the disappointment of Th1rt3en. This obvious from get go as the album opens with “The Threat is Real” whose verse riff is a sped up version of the main riff from Sepultura’s “Territory”. In fact, with the exception of the first half of the title track, the whole front half of this album consists of the sorts of heavy songs that would have felt right at home on mid period Megadeth albums like Countdown to Extinction and Youthanasia.

Unfortunately the album sort of loses steam around the midway point. While songs like “Bullet to the Brain” and “Post-American World” are not necessarily bad, they do not live up to the scorching beginning of the album. Additionally, the album's inexplicable instrumental track, “Conquer or Die”, isn’t terribly interesting, although it is a very well composed bit of music from a technical perspective.

The final tracks on the album rescue it from the dullness of the middle section to a degree. “Lying in State” is arguably the best track on the entire album, and the “The Emperor”, which is the final original song on the album, is also fantastic despite being a bit more rock tinged than some of the other offerings. Finally the album ends with a cover of Fear’s “Foreign Policy” which is pretty fun, although Dave managed to suck some of the energy out of the chorus.

“How is are the instrumental performances on the album?” you may be asking at this point. Well, in a word, great. Both Mustaine and newest guitarist Kiko Loureiro play some absolutely fantastic solos throughout the album. I would even say that some of Mustaine’s solos rival his work on Rust in Peace. Chris Adler competently plays the part of drummer, and although the nature of Mustaine’s writing don’t give him many chances to show off what he is capable of there are a few fills and things here and there where he leaves his fingerprints on the album. David Ellefson is, as always, a fantastic bassist, and holds down the low end with great skill.

So do I have any complaints? Yeah, I do have a couple. One, Dave Mustaine’s voice is fading fast, and he doesn’t always seem aware of his diminishing abilities. He has never been a fantastic singer, but there are places on this album where his attempts at melody are somewhat painful. Two, dear lord someone should stop letting Mustaine write the lyrics. I know it is his band and all, but come on, does anyone really want to listen to his political musings and conspiracy theories at this point? That was possibly the best part of Endgame. While he got political on a few of those songs it was relatively calm, and was offset by songs like “This Day We Fight”, “Headcrusher”, and “1320′”. We know you can do better Dave.

All in all this is a pretty solid album. I wouldn’t say that it is anything special, but I’m glad that I did listen to it and I hope that Dave will start moving back toward the older sound that is hinted at on this album, or at least not swing back to Super Collider style modern rock.

I think the anticipation for this album, for me, had less to do with Dave Mustaine, and more to do with their new guitarist Kiko, who I've been a huge fan of since discovering Angra some 15 or so years ago. Seeing what he could bring to a band as large, important and storied as Megadeth, made this one of the most anticipated albums ever for me.

Kiko's influence is evident, and strong in his leads, especially places like the first solo of the title track where he lets loose some very signature motifs. His solos throughout the album add a healthy dose of his own flavor, without stepping on the proverbial toes of the band's sound, as well as even giving subtle nods to former guitarists' styles, namely Poland and Friedman. The songs that he has writing credits on are definitely the more unique on the album, especially Poisonous Shadow, which is unlike anything the band has done before. It has more of a European flair, with a somber, ghostly choir in the verse, and some intense doublebass/chugging patterns, recalling something Angra-like. Post American World sounds maybe not so divergent from the bands sound, until it gets to the bridge and there is a very proggy type of breakdown, using more of a complex rhythm than you are used to hearing from the band. Kiko did an absolutely stellar job here, his solos are completely on point and his song contributions added nicely to the band's sound.

Dave's guitar leads are much more classic and streamlined, lots of bends and a bit more "rock" oriented at times. His vocals don't have quite the bite that they've had in the past, but I'm not of the opinion that his voice is failing. Still one of the most distinct and iconic voices in the game. I've always been a big fan of Dave's lyrics and largely agree with his political views, and his message here is as potent, and more important, than ever.

The production of this album is exactly what it should be, not sterile, keeping some of that old school tone in the guitars and drum sound, but nice and punchy. The lead guitars could afford to be a little louder, but other than that, it's spot on production-wise.

Songs like The Threat is Real, Fatal Illusion and Lying in State are some of the heaviest tracks the band has produced, thrashy, heavy, with lyrics that pull no punches. Even though I would have liked to hear a super fast beat drop in when Fatal Illusion picks up!

Bullet to the Brain and Poisonous Shadows sees the band using more "modern" style riffs, ones that really work in the band's favor. The main riff of Bullet to the Brain sounds much like newer Symphony X, which if you're going to sound modern, is one of the better ways to go.

The title track's main riff is pure gold. This is maybe the best track on the album, the solos absolutely destroy, the main riff is such a driving, melodic, head-banging riff, and the song has a cool structure that ends with a big crescendo at the end.

Chris Adler does a great job on drums, but I feel like his drum parts were maybe somewhat subdued per Dave's instruction. Just the feeling I get. Some of the beats don't seem like what he'd choose to play (some half-beats, where I feel he'd probably choose a much faster beats) and the complexity and fills to spice things up, seem a bit lacking. This leads me to what I feel is the only real weakness of the album.

The complexity and speed need to be nudged up, just a bit. Heaviness in the production is spot-on, but just a hair more brutality in the riffs, a few super fast drum parts (even blast beats), and some tasty bits of complexity would absolutely knock it out of the park. Even though Dystopia is one of the best tracks, it just seems to scream for added little licks and fills. I don't think they'd have to stray very far at all from what you see here to just add in a few new heavier, more technical aspects to the music. They easily have enough talent to pull it off with this lineup. With all the talk of Mustaine "holding people back", this seems like it may not change, but damn it would be such a sweet thing to see. Dave - use this awesome talent you have to it's full potential!

That said, this is a great album. Their best post-Risk release, and just behind Countdown in quality. Megadeth is definitely back on track!

Dystopia is very good. It has the energy and diversity of a rejuvenated band; Mustaine seems more intense and angry throughout, his vocals seem gruffer, his snarls more menacing and the tone of the album as a whole owes more to the angsty political persona of early Megadeth, heavily influenced by hardcore-punk bands like Fear ('Foreign Policy' is a Fear cover). Kiko Loureiro and Chris Adler are a near perfect fit for this refreshed sounding Megadeth: Adler's rhythmic and frantic pedaling brings back a pummeling speed-thrash edge and Loureiro's progressive-eccentricities (he has three writers credits on the album) brings about a rather flamboyant and creative touch.

It's a diverse album with tempo-changes, spiralling solo after solo, acoustic passages, melodies and groove galore and, I think to it's minor detriment, there is perhaps too much indulgence, or if not indulgence too much going on; the speed-thrash aggression pops up from time to time and that intensity mixed with progressive touches is when Megadeth are at their best, but too often it does not maintain that intensity, rather it slows down to a more groovy, still quite angry, and melodic NWOBHM-esque sound. It's ultimately down to taste, the slower tracks really aren't bad at all.

The first three tracks, the three singles, maintain a thrash-energy that permeates from song to song; 'Dystopia' is a great Megadeth song with a melodic groove and sleak transitions; it has an underlying aggressiveness that seems genuine, not forced. 'Fatal Illusion' opens with a crunching riff leading in to Ellefson's punchy bass popping into the mix alone segueing to dual guitars and the trademark Mustaine snarl: It's well written and certainly heavy-metal, a long way from the hard-rock filth that was Super Collider.

Following on, 'Death From Within' seemed a little uninspired, it's steady and bland riffing littered with quite interesting licks, the drumming interesting, but it was all quite conventional; it didn't quite manage to reclaim the energy from the previous songs, although this would probably be the best song on Super Collider.

'Bullet To The Brain' illustrates the importance of an imaginative rhythm guitar; Kiko and Mustaine interplay, they are both near-virtuoso's and they're not afraid to flaunt it: the solos soar and switch between dramatic and frantic, soft and forceful, the guitars sing as they harmonise and fluctuate back and fore. Kiko and Mustaine really seem to work well together. And Kiko's influence is even greater on the next three songs - 'Post American World', 'Poisonous Shadows', and 'Conquer or Die!' - as Kiko is attributed, along with Mustaine, with writer credits. These three tracks feel a lot more different: the acoustic opening to 'Poisonous Shadows' is a well-placed rest, there is an atmosphere that doesn't feel too cheesy or forced. The three songs have that progressive-power metal eccentricity that one attributes to Angra. But, and this one of my few gripes, my issue is that, although these three tracks are decent enough, they seem to stop the album in its tracks; it feels a bit plodding and less furious. 'Poisonous Shadows' is the closest thing to a ballad and, although not bad, is that what we really want from a Megadeth album? We know the band have so much potential, and they've shown us that with some of the previous tracks, so hearing this shift in tone is a bit of a let down. (Still better than Super Collider).

The rest of the album though, following on from the instrumental 'Conquer or Die!' is fantastic; it really sounds like old-school Megadeth at times and, with shitty 80's production values, I'm sure Dave Mustaine could try and palm off a few of these songs as once-lost-now-found unused studio recordings from Peace Sells. 'The Emperor' is another fun, fast-paced melodic gem; it's cheesy and eccentric and idiosyncratic with fantastic musicianship and catchiness (it even has a Tom G Warrior ughhh thrown in): isn't this all we really want from life?

It’s maybe not a good thing that my two favourite tracks on first listen were covers: ‘Foreign Policy’ a cover of 80’s hardcore-punk band Fear and ‘Melt The Ice Away’ (a Spotify bonus track, so it probably should not count, but I listened to it as part of the album before realising) a Budgie cover (Welsh hard-rockers from the 70’s). Before knowing this I had noted the punk-thrash simplicity of 'Foreign Policy' and it made sense after finding out it was a cover. Even as a cover it's a fantastic track, each member really shines through. The same can be said for 'Melt The Ice Away', Chris Adler in particular has some great fills.

All in all I am pleasantly surprised by this album. I was expecting it to be good based off the singles and based off Mustaine's recent return to a reasonable level of sanity. It really does have that unpredictability and diversity that Megadeth do so well: solos melt in to solos, solos fuse into grooves and eccentric bridges, bouncing bass interludes merge with gruff snarls and diverse drumming. It's extravagant but still espouses an 80's thrash-hardcore-punk sentiment that Megadeth seemed to be missing before. The lyrics, I find, still make me laugh - more likely cringe - at times, but this is Dave Mustaine, he's more of a stereotype, a cardboard cut out of a rock-star these days; he seems a bit more normal but he is still an anomaly. Dave Mustaine is a concept, an idea, a feeling, a movement deep inside of us all; he is human - well, half-human half-robot - and so I can forgive him.

Written for Akerblogger: akerblogger.blogspot.co.uk

Ah, good old 'deth, the thrash band we all know. The band which released solid albums over their three decades of existence, with only a few of them ever disappointing (hey Metallica). After the letdown of 2013's Super Collider, Dave decided he had to come back to the thrash roots and to the original Megadeth essence. Accompanied by a new lineup which consists Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler and Angra's own guitar virtuoso Kiko Lourerio.

The new lineup is better by far than the last. Chris Adler's technical drumming is just as intense and powerful as it is in any Lamb of God album, with relentless double kicks dominant in the entire album. Dave's and Kiko's thrashing leads and rhythms feel like they came straight out of Rust in Peace and United Abominations, and as far as I can recall, these albums have some of the best Megadeth riffs ever made. It definitely seems that Dave gave some creative space to the new band members, and it is working perfectly. The flashy solos are better than ever and can compete with any Friedman or Poland solos ever played, and the riffs are creative in a way that resembles a more technical Peace Sells and Endgame.

Megadeth have clearly proved themselves in terms of creativity and song structures, which vary from song to song: while the title track is melodic and is more heavy metal oriented than thrash, Poisonous Shadows is a chug-along Lamb of God- like groove song and Conquer....Or Die! having a Spanish-like acoustic intro. The most notable song here is undoubtedly Poisonous Shadows. It sums up the entire album and it does it perfectly- sharp solos and heavy leads, accompanied by almost drum-programm sounding machine gun double bass and accompanying Dave Jr.'s talented bass lines, and a damn piano outro (a piano wasn't used in a Megadeth song since 1985) which really badass and keeps the angry atmosphere of the album. Even Dave's vocals and Dave Jr.'s backing vocals sound energetic again, unlike the old men's moaning which ruled the previous release. Each song of the album goes in the exact same manner (except for the piano part), and doesn't seem to bore at all- even the Fear cover is made this way and surprisingly, it doesn't shame the original song at all.

The lyrics aren't the dumb Super Collider lyrics anymore. No more "Burn baby burnnnnnnnn or "When you feel, life is bringing you down" wankering, but instead, some very hard criticizing political lyrics which put the ones that were featured in United Abominations to shame:

"Demoralized and overmastered people think
The quickest way to end a war is lose
Dictatorship ends starting with tyrannicide
You must destroy the cancer at its root" (Dystopia)

The production is nothing short but perfect. It is perfectly equalized, with each instrument and vocal being heard perfectly, and don't overrule the drums and bass. The only flaw in the album is the duration of some songs which could be cut down by a few, but overall, this album has definitely entered the top 10 Megadeth albums of all time. Recommended.